


Before we realized

by Mirzy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: After highschool, Canon Divergence, Fluff, Graduation, Kuroo ships kenhina, M/M, Mentions of non-con, Pining, Post canon, Smut, and pining, childhood neglection, eventual mutual pining, just guys being dudez, just kidding, lots of homo, more homo than anyone can handle, no homo here, pansexual Bokuto is canon asf, roomies, sexuality questioning, they're just bros ok, too much pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-25 13:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6196060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirzy/pseuds/Mirzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is it possible to fall for someone without realizing it? Every touch seeming so natural it was like you were born to be together. What happens when you think it's just a close friendship.</p><p>And what happens when you start to think it's more than just friendship.</p><p>AKA Kuroo learns how to be gay. </p><p>__</p><p>End of highschool</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clear as day

**Author's Note:**

> Pining and dorks being cute.
> 
> this fic has been sitting in my phones notes for about 3 months so i figured i'd upload it and see how it goes.
> 
>  
> 
> got some ideas from a doujin i read a while back... a sexy, sexy doujin.

"What do you mean you dumped her!?" Bokuto's face was wild with confusion. 

"It means exactly what it sounds like.. " Kuroo replied nonchalantly, lifting his chopsticks to his mouth, not looking at his friend. 

"You were obnoxiously lovey-dovey with her last week..." 

"A lot can change in a week." 

His replies were short and curt. Bokuto, lowered his eyebrows, staring at his best friend, utterly bewildered. "Did something happen? You do something shitty and piss her off?" 

"Nope. Just ended it." 

"Why though? Seriously Kuroo, you're acting weird." Bokuto took the lull in the conversation as a sign to sit back down, instead of leaning over the table, sticking his face over Kuroo's lunch. 

"You said you didn't like her." 

Bokuto's breath caught in his throat. About four days ago Bokuto had opened up to him about his... dislike for Kuroo's girlfriend. He didn't really know why she bothered him so much but he just got a weird feeling around her. He had kept quiet out of respect for his friend and they dated for almost four months. They seemed really happy, why would Kuroo end it? 

"Please tell me you're kidding." Bokuto practically begged and Kuroo stayed silent, gazing out the window, watching the traffic. Bokuto groaned and put a hand over his eyes. 

"I... i have no words. How could you break up with someone for a dumb reason like that?" he peeked through his fingers before dropping his hand onto the table. Kuroo glanced at him and shrugged, returning his eyes to his food. 

"You said you didn't like her." he repeated, chewing up a mouthful of food. 

Bokuto could feel his nostrils flaring "Jesus Kuroo! I told you i didn't like her to get it off my chest so i would stop feeling so guilty! i didn't think you'd just drop her because of that." he exclaimed, planting his hands on the table "Since when have you even taken me seriously, let alone decide things based on what i think?" 

Kuroo finally raised his head, a serious expression etched onto his face, placing his chopsticks by his plate "I value your judge of character. You like _everyone_ Bokuto, and if there's someone you don't like, i generally assume there's something seriously wrong with them. So yes. I broke up with her because i trust your opinion." He spoke flatly, a stern tone to his voice. 

Bokuto lowered his head slightly, glancing up at Kuroo's face almost cautiously. Kuroo picked up his chopsticks again, his stern expression not fading "And for the record. I _always_ take you seriously." 

Kuroo wasn't even trying to hide his annoyance. That sort of implication on their friendship twinged something inside of him. He expected that sort of thing from others but definitely not Bokuto. 

The grey-haired male sighed, looking somewhat guilty and leaned his face on his hand, peering out the window. Kuroo's expression softened. He didn't have a right to get mad at him. He knows he's being moody and Bokuto's just worried about him. But if he told him about the root of his feelings, he wasn't sure how much of their friendship he could salvage. 

"...i know... i'm sorry." Bokuto sighed, turning his head just a bit to make eyecontact with Kuroo. "..I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around your logic." he admitted, scratching at the wooden table. 

Kuroo slumped back in his seat, pushing his mostly clean plate to the side. "Me too honestly. And don't be sorry, it was my choice. You're all good buddy." He smiled sincerely and Bokuto looked a little unsure at first, before he grinned, turning his body back towards Kuroo. 

There was silence between them for a bit. Neither of them paid much attention to the time passing without either of them speaking. Bokuto tapped his fingers on the table anxiously. He's a great conversationalist, he takes pride in it but at the present time he didn't feel it was appropriate to change the subject. 

Bokuto checked his phone, their lunch break was coming to a close. Third years at Nekoma and Fukurodnai are allowed to leave the school during breaks, so they catch a train and meet halfway at a café and have lunch together sometimes.

Bokuto stood up and grabbed his schoolbag "I should grab the next tram. If I'm late back to class Akaashi's gonna tell me off..." 

Kuroo stared up at him quizically "He's in a completely different year, how would he even know?" 

"He always knows." 

Kuroo chuckled, standing up and grabbing his own bag. Kuroo's journey back to the suburbs was a little bit further away but the train was quicker. So he wasn't in a rush. Bokuto held up a hand to Kuroo, he grabbed it and pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his opposite shoulder. Bokuto clapped him on the back and pulled away, grinning as usual. 

"I'll see ya' later bro, text me if you're feeling lonely" Bokuto winked and headed for the door. Kuroo smiled raising a hand in a lazy wave and dropped it into his pocket. He watched his friend walk away and mentally slapped himself for avoiding what he actually wanted to say. 

\--- 

Kuroo's face deadpanned as he read over the second question on his maths work for the umpteenth time, scratching his head with both hands. He groaned as his forehead slowly found his textbook, open to the page that's supposed to help him with this crap. English? easy. Science? Done in a second. History? simple. Maths? kill him before he cries. Release him from this hell. 

It's not like he's _terrible_ at maths. He averages a B, -either low or high depending on the sub topic- but he gets A's for everything else so it's annoying to see the anomaly on his report cards. 

"Having a bit of trouble?" Bokuto called from across the room, scrolling down facebook in a daze. Kuroo could practically hear the knowing smile on his face. He's always hated algebra. Maths in general but algebra especially. It just escaped his understanding completely, no matter how many times it was explained to him.

He'd skipped the first question because it made no sense but it turns out the second question was no better. 

"C'mere and help me with my maths you airhead!" Kuroo yelled over his shoulder to the boy laying spredagled over his couch with one of Kuroo's cats. 

Bokuto didnt move, instead replying "Isn't calling me an airhead while asking me to help with your schoolwork a bigger insult on you?" the grey-haired boy stated matter-of-factly, still staring lazily at his phone. 

Kuroo just grunted loudly in frustration, throwing his head back over the dining room chair, rousing Bokuto from his comfortable spot. "Okay, okay! im coming.." he said in mock exasperation standing up, placing the cat back on the couch and lightly jogging over to where the other boy sat at the table. He pulled over a chair closer to Kuroo, leaning a forearm on the Nekoma boys shoulder and peered at his work. 

Kuroo's gaze went from his friend, to his work and back again, wondering what was going through the mind of someone who was actually decent at maths.... 

Sure his attention span is ferociously inconsistent, he's insanely forgetful and he has the habit of over-exaggerating for dramatic effect, but Bokuto's grades weren't actually bad. They would be better-according to Akaashi- if he didnt have the memory of a goldfish but they were enough for him to pass. 

Seeing as he attends a private school where the expectations are higher, it was no surprise that Bokuto would pick up some form of a good work ethic. Of course it might also have something to do with the fact that he needs to have good grades in order to actually play volleyball for the school... 

and since...y'know "ball is life" Bokuto has his priorities straight. 

Fukurodani, being a private school where parents would pay a large sum of money for their childs education, they're far more strict in regards to balancing school work and club activities. 

In Nekoma, Karasuno or any public school, you would only need a passing grade to participate in your club, whereas in Fukurodani you need to at least average a high 'C' (preferably a B) over the course of each semester (if youre involved in a club) and be up to date with your assignments, otherwise you were suspended from all club activities until your grades improved.

So essentially, using the guideline "no good grades = no volleyball" the entire Fukurodani team were encouraged to be above average in academic intelligence.

"So what exactly are you stuck on...?" Bokuto said reading over the first question. "All of it." Kuroo mumbled, still incredibly irritated from hours of getting nowhere. 

Bokuto clicked his tongue nodding, more to himself as he looked at the textbook examples.

When Kuroo asked Bokuto how he got so good at maths, he deflected. Making jokes saying it was from years of counting and trading pokemon cards as a grade schooler, but Kuroo couldnt help but feel it had more of a story behind it. Since maths was the _only_ subject he really acceled at other than health, P.E and anything practical like woodwork or metalwork. 

All he knew about Bokuto's childhood was that he was pretty much alone as a kid. Being an only child and having parents that worked 24/7, he grew up secluded from what your average kid would call "family love". He wouldn't be surprised if he did maths for fun in that situation. So there were times when Kuroo found it hard to blame him for getting attatched to the people that complimented and praised him. It was still annoying. But he tolerated it. Just because it was Bokuto. Anyone else would get Kuroo's coldest shoulder. 

"Ok..and when you say 'help you' do you mean 'gradually go through it with you' or 'do the whole thing for you' because it takes enough mental effort for me to do my own work thanks." Bokuto clarified, silently answering his own question and began writing down the examples from the textbook in a way that was easier to understand. 

Kuroo scrunched up his face at the sight of Bokuto clearly not just writing the answers for him " _i mean_ , help your best friend!" 

Bokuto hummed shrugging his shoulders and faking an offput face at the title of 'best friend'. Kuroo pouted. "What if i told you i loved you?" Kuroo said putting his head on his friends shoulder, tickling the side of his face with his spiky hair. 

Bokuto scoffed, whipping his head up "What do you take me for? some first year girl that pines for your approval?" he asked feigning offense.

"Yeah pretty much" Kuroo joked with a nod, trying to read what Bokuto had written. "You're right, i love it! say it again!" the other boy responded imediately, leaning over into Kuroo's personal space, grabbing both sides of his face, pulling Kuroo's mouth to his ear and just held it there, fluttering his eyelashes like he was eagerly awaiting a response. 

Kuroo flinched back on reflex before chuckling and placing a gentle hand along Bokutos neck and jawline, pulling himself slightly closer, tilting his head so his nose nuzzled the hair sticking out behind the spikers ear. 

A shiver tingled around the back of Bokuto's neck as the other boy practically pressed his lips against his ear as he spoke. His grip on Kuroo's face loosened, being prepared to let go and sit back at any given moment. 

Kuroo just smiled into his ear before whispering "..Your breath smells like fish.." allowing his fingers to trail to Bokutos chin as he leant back. The ace seemed slightly taken aback before he cupped a hand around his mouth to smell his own breath, giggling once he realized it was true. 

"Well i DID make sushi for lunch...and by the way! it was delicious." Bokuto confirmed, grinning and returning his attention to Kurro's work for a moment when the other male quipped "You smell like you gave head to a mermaid.." 

"Aaand you! smell like someone doing algebra by himself! Bye Kuroo~ <3" Bokuto chirped, standing up and heading for the doorway. 

"No wait!..." Kuroo called desperately, stretching his long body across the chairs, wrapping his arms around Bokutos thighs, preventing him from walking any further. 

"..dont leave me baby, i can change!" the Nekoma captain nuzzled his face into the ace's hip and the latter laughed, placing a hand in Kuroo's bed-hair "Let go of me, you bean pole" Kuroo's grip only tightened "Only if you promise you'll never leave me~!" he wailed dramatically and Bokuto let out another howl of laughter, attempting to lever his arms off him. 

He gets it! he's getting a taste of his own medicine, _now god fucking damnit Kuroo let go!_

"I won't leave i promise! i'll bury myself beside you when you die, now let go! im gonna fall over!" Bokuto did his best speaking through giggles as he could feel his balance failing, almost toppling from Kuroo pining his legs together. 

Kuroo considered letting him fall on his ass but he decided not to push his luck. He released his grip and sat up, moving back onto his seat so Bokuto could sit next to him. He sat down with an exhausted exhale, catching his breath and picked up Kuroo's pencil 

"..Now!.... if i tell you what all the unknown letters stand for can you do the rest of the equations yourself?" he questioned glancing at Kuroo in his peripheral vision, doing the first two in his head. 

"Can you just tell me the answers instead..?"

"Kuroo no."

"..But i love you" 

"Thats not gonna work a second time."


	2. Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo tries something out. 
> 
> and imediately regrets it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pining pining pining. nsfw conversation i guess? 
> 
> enjoy ~

Kuroo wasnt sure how they always ended up like this. He never used to question it... but recently he's been feelings things that are getting harder to ignore. 

The two of them had retired to Kuroo's room after Bokuto had acussed the other of being "tired and grumpy" so they were now lying in a 'T' formation on Kuroo's bed. Bokuto layed across it sideways, lying on his back with his legs hanging off the end and Kuroo with his head on the ace's broad chest, tapping on his phone, asking Yaku for the answer to a question Bokuto refused to tell him. 

His head rose and fell along with the others chest and it wasnt long before he heard soft snoring. Bokuto could fall asleep in the middle of the apocalypse and still wake up fresh at 6am... 

The spiker had his left arm over Kuroos chest/shoulders, holding the Nekoma boy in his sleep, fingers absent mindedly curling in Kuroos shirt and Kuroo happily rested his face against the bicep presented to him by lazily flopping his head to the side. 

It was easy to be comfortable around Bokuto, it was also hard to explain. Touching him was just natural... like it was instinctive to Kuroo. Fortunately they were both touchy-feely people so the frequent arms around shoulders or waists or the occasional hands on thighs didnt come off as strange to either of them.

But it did leave Kuroo at a loss for whenever somebody asked what their relationship was. He would deny that they're dating but then not be able to point out a difference between how he acts with Bokuto and how he acts with someone he's dating. Besides from the sexual parts...not that he hasn't thought about it..

Kuroo's a curious person in that respect. He loves hearing about his friends being hoes more than anything, but with Bokuto sometimes he finds himself wanting more details. 

He actually thinks he still spends more time with Bokuto even when he _is_ dating someone. He tells them "Oh we're just close", he tells himself that too... but in the end what does that even mean? Is it stupid to think that you can accidentally date someone without realizing it? 

He's never brought this up with Bokuto before. Not that he was scared of what he might think or anything. Bokuto's a very open minded person, it's why he always felt comfortable telling him things, knowing there was no judgment from the otherside. 

At the end of the day the question is 'Does he want to date Bokuto'? that's one good question. And honestly Kuroo couldnt think of one reason why not... until he thought about the sexual part again. 

How would that even work?... well he knows how it would work but... y'know..

He blushed at his sudden explicit thoughts. Shaking them out of his mind quickly. 

Bokuto stirred slighty in his sleep, his arm moving up onto his own chest, choking Kuroo in the process. He was met with the muscular arm in a sleepy hold practically strangling him. 

_"Gehk!"_ Kuroo pushed the arm away so it laid over his stomach. 

_tsk_ Kuroo scolded and rolled over to face the other, shuffling his head further up Bokuto's chest so he could feel the others breath on his face "Mmm. soz bruh..." he slurred, readjusting his arm around Kuroo, who studied his face, not sure if he's actually awake or half asleep. 

Kuroo huffed in response and stretched out out his neck, nuzzling his nose against Bokutos chin "Wake up you dork" Kuroo chided, Bokuto only smiled lazily "i am...." he whispered unintentionally, eyes still closed, his head lolling to the side and Kuroo huffed yet again "C'mon you dick, i have a question" 

Kuroo rose an eyebrow expectantly at him and Bokuto's lazy smile continued "fire away..." the spiker tapped on the others back with an open palm, gesturing for him to speak up. 

Kuroo adjusted himself so he was lying on his stomach and put and arm under his head atop Bokutos chest, putting the other one by his face, lightly tracing circles on the ace's cheek. Bokuto hummed leaning into the touch, the smile turning into an inane grin. "Have you ever thought about sex?" 

Kuroo realized after he said it that it's not the most specific of questions but he could still make it work. Bokuto pouted out his lips, eyes still closed "Not as often as you might think i do..." he responded just as sleepily as he had been previously.

Kuroo scoffed, resting his hand beside Bokutos head and used the hand under his own face to trace aimlessly on Bokutos pecs.

"I mean sex with me." Kuroo stated the question a bit too casually, eyes still planted on the other males closed eyes. That being said, Bokutos eyes snapped open and his expression could only be described as a mix between confused and intruiged. He lifted his head to look at the boy on his chest with one eyebrow raised. 

"Well this conversation just got sexy." 

"Dont avoid the question." 

Kuroo admits he was getting a little insistant but now they were on the topic he wanted to know he wasnt alone in his feelings. Maybe he and Bokuto had been thinking about the same things? He just needed the clarification.

Bokuto lowered his eyebrows skeptikally and a bemused, half smile found his lips. "I'll remember to come better prepared the next time you ask me to come over to _'study'_ ".

"Bokuto."

"Ok, ok..." he laughed sleepily "..In what context are we talking about here?" he asked moving the arm that wasnt around Kuroo, beside him to lean up slightly. 

Kuroo followed the movement, sitting up a little bit, still over the others chest "Literal. As in have you ever wondered about what im like in bed?" 

Bokuto smirked "I think i can guess, bedhead" he ruffled the back of Kuroo's head where his hair stuck out at unmanagable angles. Kuroo narrowed his eyes at the insinuation and swatted his arm away, leaving it to return to laying across Kuroos back. 

"Didnt i tell you to stop avoiding the question?"

Bokuto just dropped his head back, a low laugh in his throat "What do you want me to say Kuroo?" he fired back, lifting his head, staring down the male leaning over his chest. 

The moment he did, Kuroo surged forward, a hand flat on the others chest and pressed their lips together, softly taking his top lip between his own. 

Bokuto didn't jerk away from the sudden touch, but he didnt return the kiss either. Instead he stayed still and waited for Kuroo to move back. 

The Nekoma captain didnt know why he was doing this. He supposed it was because he just wanted to get the point through Bokuto's thick skull and couldn't put up with him dodging questions anymore. Or maybe he just wanted to try it...

Kuroo moved back just enough so their lips weren't touching anymore, his hooded gaze moving from Bokutos lips to his eyes which were pinned on his own. 

Bokuto dipped his head slightly, clearing his throat and let his eyes roam over Kuroo's face for a moment "..Ok... im beginning to get what you were saying.."

Bokuto's expression suddenly dropped to a sadder one "...why didnt you tell me Tetsurou?" his face was sincere as he placed a firm hand comfortingly on Kuroo's waist.

Kuroo's eyes widened and he jerked his head back. _Oh god, did Bokuto think....?_ Bokuto just tilted his head, awaiting a response, Kuroo stammered "What? No! no, no that wasn't.... i mean that's not what i meant i just... i was just.." Kuroo sat up on his knees leaving a bewildered Bokuto, now leaning on both his elbows, staring up at him. 

Bokuto held a hand up "Hey, hey calm down and just talk to me.." Bokuto said softly. 

Ok now he could see the problem. _Bokuto_ was telling him to calm down. Is he really that flustered?

Kuroo stared at him wide-eyed trying to think of a way to explain himself but he honestly couldn't think of an excuse. He took a deep breath and let out a shaky laugh "Hah... That wasn't... uhm... what you thought it was.." Kuroo chuckled lightly, trying to ease his own breathing. 

The ace watched him suspiciously "Oh really? mind explaining?" 

_Damnit Koutarou, you choose now to be thorough?_

Kuroo huffed out a short chuckle once again "What? you thought id choose such a lame way to confess to someone? _You_ especially?... No.. i... i.." Kuroo sighed, scratching the back of his head. 

Bokuto just watched him curiously, sitting up, keeping his eyes locked on the other captain. "..i honestly dont know. i think we spend too much time together and i caught some of your stupid." 

Bokuto's eyebrows raised "Now who's avoiding the question?" he uttered, causing Kuroo to scowl.

Bokuto knelt up and placed a gentle hand on Kuroo's arm "Tetsurou, it's ok man... really! i dont mind! lets just lie back down and talk about it.." Kuroo could feel his face burning up. A tight, uncomfortable feeling rising in his chest. Why is he acting like this? Kuroo felt like he was being coddled by a big brother who found out he was being bullied at middle school. 

"Dude- no stop!..." he snapped in a panic, swatting his hand again "..w-what made you think that i... i..?" 

Bokuto's face grew confused yet again and lowered his arms, setting them in his lap, speaking slowly "Well... you _did_ kiss me, if i remember correctly... and you're not drunk or acting under a bet.." Bokuto said, recalling the two other instances where they've kissed. "...unless it was a bet? are Yaku and Yamamoto hiding in here somewhere filming us? is this gonna be on facebook?" Bokuto questioned looking around the room and leaning over the end of the bed, checking underneath it.

Kuroo kicked his leg out into Bokuto's hip muttering for him to shut up, the latter laughing. Bokuto sighed, rolling back over and sitting up "So what... You're not secretly in love with me?" his words had a joking tone to him but they had an air of something else. Something more sincere. Kuroo lay himself down on his stomach again. 

"No more than i already was." he said with a wink. Bokuto just shook his head, waving a hand at his friend "Nuh uh, don't even try to act cool! Not after you were stammering like a fucking first year the first time they touched a boob..." he said accusingly at Kuroo who hung his head smiling, feeling blood rush to his face again. 

Kuroo knew he was lying to himself. He wasn't deluded about that fact in the slightest. He didn't even know if Bokuto believed him or not but he decided to leave the conversation where it was... for now. 

"..The answer's yes by the way.." 

Kuroo looked up instantly, a quizical expression on his face.

Bokuto clarified "...about your question earlier.. if i've ever thought about you in a sexual way. Yes. accidentally.... i think." he spoke so casually Kuroo wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. 

The Nekoma captain stared at him, his heart beginning to hammer against his ribs. Kuroo sat up, trying to hide his interest "How so?" he spoke with focus, attempting to match his friends casual tone but finding it hard to keep his cool. 

Bokuto made a decisive noise, averting his eyes over to the door, looking like he was planning on making a run for it before he scratched the back of his head. 

He clearly didnt want to talk about this but he'll be dammed if he was gonna let the damn owl stop now. 

"Well... it was about a month or two ago.. it was really early in the morning.. like 2am maybe. i couldnt sleep so i decided to...y'know.. pass the time with good ol' lefty..." he waved the hand beside his head as he spoke of it 

"..and about half way through... _you_ popped into my head." he finished with a shrug and Kuroo was certain he was red all the way up to his ears. 

Although he couldn't stop a small laugh of disbelief from escaping him just at the pure insanity of this situation "...seriously?" he was almost flattered. 

Bokuto continued "i didn't keep going! It's not like i think about you before i go to bed." he clarified, narrowing his eyes at Kuroo when his shocked expression changed to an amused one. 

"i was fucking ashamed of myself.. i stopped right away and went and had a cold shower and then curled up in a ball until the sun came up" he let out a short laugh and sighed. Kuroo felt somewhat more at ease at the confession. 

Thats not right is it? feeling happy at the news that your best friend thought about you once while he was jacking it. 

"So what about you?" Kuroo was surprised by the question. He didnt respond. Instead just staring up at him, puzzled. Bokuto huffed with a thin smile on his face "Well? there must be a reason you brought this up. I mean this is all normal coming from me, a male who is openly interested in other males. However you..."

Bokuto paused, taking a moment to examine his friend. He's not the most observant person, however if there's anyone he knows anything about, it's Kuroo. 

Bokuto shrugged again as he spoke "...so what? you like boys too now? was this just a long winded way of coming out to me?" Bokuto pressed trying to encourage Kuroo to speak up. Kuroo was about the argue back when he stopped and thought about it for a moment. 

Did he? i mean he had accepted a long time ago that he found Bokuto attractive. Nothing wrong with a dude thinking another dude is sorta hot. But he was only recently admitting to himself that he was somewhat attracted to him. 

Then again it was _just_ Bokuto. Not all men. So he's not about to go making assumptions on his sexuality... Not yet anyway.. 

But he couldn't say that to him... Kuroo just slowly nodded, staring beneath him at the bed and Bokuto relaxed his shoulders and smiled gently "There... was that so hard?" 

He put a hand on his best friends shoulder, prompting him to look at into his round golden eyes. Kuroo smiled back, with a hint of uncertainty and Bokuto beamed down at him as wild as ever. 

As if he sensed his uneasiness, Bokuto opened his arms and gestured for Kuroo to come to him. Kuroo hesitantly moved at first but then happily accepted his friends muscular arms wrapping around him, returning the hug smiling into his shoulder. 

Bokuto tipped them both over so they were lying on their side, their heads back on the pillows. Bokuto pulled Kuroo's face into his chest, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and throwing a leg over his hip, grinning into the top of his black hair.

Kuroo just inhaled his scent, nestled his face into the chest of the one currently latching to him and put his arms around his waist, closing his eyes and letting himself doze off for the night. Hoping to god he didn't dream about Bokuto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> incase i wasnt clear, bokuto was suggesting that Kuroo's a lazy lover. (will always be the one lyibg back doing minimal work) ~ hehe


	3. Well shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo's pining is getting ridiculous
> 
> even Bokuto is gonna notice at this rate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pining and nsfw at the end
> 
> (sorry dad)
> 
> I had a few issues editing this so if you're an earlier reader then i reccomend reloading the page.

It gets a little hot in Kuroo's room overnight, especially when youre sleeping next to a living, snoring furnace. 

Bokuto had removed his shirt when he realized they weren't returning to Kuroo's homework and were just going to leave it for tomorrow. So Kuroo awoke, sweating from everywhere his body touched Bokuto's...which was...everywhere and rubbed his eyes, looking over the sleeping figure next to him. 

The leg that was slung over his hip when he went to sleep was now tucked between Kuroo's legs, his beefy thigh too close to Kuroo's crotch for his own comfort. He subtly tried to adjust their position but Bokuto had a vice grip around him that only tightened, bringing Kuroo firmly against his chest the more he tried to shuffle away. 

So in the end Kuroo had his leg pinned around Bokuto's waist, the others leg pressing against his groin as Bokuto curled closer against him. 

Kuroo held his breath as Bokuto's face nuzzled against his neck, his mouth slightly open, lips brushing on his skin. 

Kuroo had to put a hand on his thigh and push it away ever so slightly, just to relieve the pressure on his crotch and the tight feeling growing in his abdomen. However every little movement prompted Bokuto to clamp his arms tighter around Kuroo's back, nuzzling his face closer into his neck.

He really is one hell of a snuggler. 

Kuroo sighed into the top of Bokuto's hair, beginning to feel hot in more ways than one, resorting to arching his back in an attempt to wriggle out of the hold. Essentially pressing his chest into Bokuto, but giving him a bit more freedom to lift his leg. 

Once he had gotten Bokuto's sleeping frame to loosen his hold just a little bit, he rolled onto his back, then rolled again until he was completely free. 

Kuroo almost cheered with joy but the cold air wafting over him was both refreshing and... lonely. 

_Are you serious brain? Why are you doing this to me?_

To be more honest it probably wasnt his brain doing the thinking. Most likely actually. 

"Nnggh... Kuroo?" Bokuto groaned sleepily, staring directly at where Kuroo was sitting in the pitch black room. It was always sort of disconcerting that Bokuto could hone in on you in the dark even when you couldn't see your hand in front of your own face. Kuroo could see in the dark to an extent but not on Bokuto's level. Not to mention how his eyes seemed to glow.

"Still here. Just went to the toilet." he lied casually, his brain deciding he didn't want Bokuto to think he didn't enjoy their cuddles. 

He removed his shirt and slipped off his school trousers that he forgot to change out of before Bokuto arrived yesterday and climbed under the covers, gesturing for Bokuto to do the same. 

Bokuto lifted an isolated part of his body so Kuroo could move the blankets a little bit more each time until they eventually got far enough so Bokuto could just lift his legs and lazily shuffle under.

Kuroo was a little disappointed he couldn't be bothered taking his sweatpants off but he decided to leave his friend be and stop being so fucking thirsty.

Bokuto doesn't have pajamas. He's one of those people who just sleep in whatever they had on when they got into bed. Chances are he'll wear it jogging the next morning too. 

That was one thing that really separated them. Kuroo liked sleeping in. He was a heavy sleeper, hence the permanent bed head. After needing to get up for school at 5am every morning during the week, he looked forward to his free weekends so he could do nothing until noon. 

Bokuto however, was up regardless. Ready to start the day and terrorize the masses the second the sun starts to rise, sometimes before that too. 

He would go for early morning jogs, come back and then do what every other student does preparing for school, eat breakfast, shower and go. Bokuto never bothered Kuroo when they slept over each others houses though. He would make an effort to sneak around his sleeping friend, knowing how grouchy he got if he woke up before 10am on a Saturday, which Kuroo appreciated. However there were times when Kuroo did something to piss him off so Bokuto called for what he refers to as 'Justice' and seeks revenge in the form of ruining his sleep. 

It wasn't long before Bokuto was snoring again. Kuroo nestled into his bed, somewhat comforted by the repetitive nasal sounds and drifted off. 

\------------

Kuroo blinked his eyes open grogily, feeling loose and relaxed from a deep, dreamless nights sleep. He stretched his arms out, arching his back and cracking his toes. He let out a satisfied noise, glancing beside him at the empty double bed. 

He yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and rolled over to look at his clock. 9:25.

He wondered if Bokuto was still here or if he had gone home. The two of them come and go from each others houses as they please. Walking through the front door like they live there too. Not that anyone minds. Bokuto's parents are never home and Kuroo's parents love Bokuto. 

They've treated him like a part of the family ever since the first time he came over for dinner. His dad was wildly impressed with him for the whole 'top 5' thing and his mom just thought he was adorable... which is true. 

Bokuto's the sort of person that starts a conversation with your mom out of pure friendliness and then actually becomes invested in it. He will literally befriend your mom. They're friends on facebook. 

The relationship between Bokuto and his mom was a little different though. Kuroo's mother knew that Bokuto's mother was distant and absent for most of his childhood so she made an effort to give him all the motherly love he missed out on when he was a kid. Making him meals, embarassing sweaters -which Bokuto fucking loves- and ultimately treating him like a son. 

He was probably downstairs talking to her now. Kuroo's dad wa be at work but his mom works from home so it was likely they were chatting. 

Kuroo considered staying in bed for a bit longer but ended up slipping on a shirt and shorts and heading down stairs 

He was right. There was Bokuto and his mother, sitting at the breakfast bar each with a mug in their hands. From what he'd heard so far, Bokuto was telling her about the party they went to friday night.

One of the girls from Furkurodani is known for throwing giant parties so Bokuto brought Kuroo along as a plus 1. It was certainly big, lots of drunk kids dancing and making out in the corners. There was a college guy offering drugs but he assumed Bokuto would leave that part out when retelling the night to his mother.

Kuroo and Bokuto's reason for going to parties is mainly just to see people and screw around. Drinking wasn't a priority, although Kuroo enjoyed the atmosphere that drinking created. Bokuto didn't drink, well, he drank alcohol when he felt like it but didn't drink to get drunk.

He's a bit of a health freak actually. Apperently he was a chubby kid because he had never heard of a home-cooked meal until he could cook for himself. So once he was old enough to understand the concept of being unhealthy, he started to work towards being the beefcake he is today.

And like everything he sets his mind towards, he became obsessive at succeeding and keeping consistant. Similar to his volleyball antics when he messes up a serve or gets blocked, if he loses muscle mass or gets the tiniest bit of fat on his arms or stomach, he gets agitated and exercises until he passes out. Which ironically, isn't good for him.

The two of them turned to him as he entered the kitchen. "Morning sweetiepie!" his mother called and Bokuto snickered, smiling into his tea at the petname. 

Kuroo grunted a 'Mornin'', walking around them and into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and sitting down opposite the other two, pouring himself cereal. 

Kuroo noticed Bokuto was in his volleyball gear. He stared at him for a moment, admiring his kneepads that travelled up his thighs before realizing what he'd completely forgotten. 

Furkurodani was having a charity FETE on their school grounds today and the clubs were all doing something for entertainment as well as choosing a charity to promote. It was a massive annual thing that always drew a lot of people from all over. They hired rides, games, all sorts of things you would find at a carnival. Everything was free and you chose to donate if you wanted. Luckily they attracted plenty of generous people.

He remembered the bright pink jersey that Bokuto showed him last week. The boys and girls volleyball teams chose breast cancer, hence the fluro pink uniforms. They were endearing, and they definitely stood out. 

The volleyball teams were going to play some matches together and they were also in charge of a few dunk machines where anyone could toss a ball at a button and dunk a team member into a tub of water. Kuroo had plans to spend most of his time there. 

Kuroo tucked into his breakfast and tuned back into Bokuto speaking.

"...The art club is gonna have these giant blankets of sheets sewn together that you can throw paint at, then they're gonna draw over them and make something cool." he explained excitidly, gesturing with his arms "I saw them filling balloons the other day at school. I know a girl in that club, she said she'd save me and Konaha a bucket of them." Bokuto chuckled and Kuroo's mother smiled, asking him about the other charities being represented. 

Kuroo just sat and listened. He found hinself wondering who the girl was. She was probably cute. Bokuto's bright personality attracts cute girls... 

_Why am i being so bitter? Damnit Kuroo calm down. He's friends with everybody of course that means some close female friends._

He knew that other males were competition as well, but girls are pretty and socially acceptable so he was more weary of them...

_Now they're 'competition'? Kuroo stop._

"...It starts at 11 for the public but i've gotta be there by 10" he glanced at the clock "..should probably get going. Still gotta get home and grab a change of clothes." 

Kuroo's mother stood up, finishing off her tea "i'll drive you to the station hon'" She offered, grabbing her keys off the bench. "Tetsurou make sure you're ready when i get back, and tell Kenma to be ready by 10:30" she pointed at Kuroo knowingly, thirteen school years of evidence proving her son is not the fastest at getting ready in the morning.

He waved a hand dismissively "Yeah yeah..." he flinched when his mom bopped him on the nose with two fingers before turning on her heel and leaving the kitchen. 

"I'll see you in like an hour buddy" Bokuto said with a short wave and Kuroo nodded a goodbye. After a short while Kuroo heard the front door open and close and Kuroo was left alone to his thoughts.

It's hard having a crush. He hasn't had one this bad since middle school. At least he's pretty sure it's a crush. Maybe he just got indigestion whenever Bokuto was around. 

At least Bokuto would be busy all day so he won't see him a lot...

..but also Bokuto's going to be busy all day so he won't see him a lot.

do you see the dilemma?

He stood up and put his bowl in the dishwasher, slowly walking upstairs, flopping back onto his bed and grabbing his phone off the charger. 

_9:35_ \- **Kuroo:** Kenma you had better be awake.

 _9:35_ - **Kuroo:** K

 _9:36_ \- **Kuroo:** E

 _9:36_ - **Kuroo:** N

 _9:36_ \- **Kuroo:** M

 _9:36_ \- **Kuroo:** A

 _9:36_ - **Kitten \^•^/:** im not going 

Kuroo narrowed his eyes at the screen. He knew this was coming. 

_9:37_ \- **Kuroo:** Well i'm coming to get you at 10:30 whether ur ready or not 

_9:38_ \- **Kitten \^•^/:** have fun with that

Kuroo knew it was time to put his persuasive skills into action. Or more accurately take advantage of one of Kenma's weaknesses.

_9:38_ \- **Kubroo:** Hey you have chibi- chan's number right? tell him to come today and text Kenma. 

_9:39_ \- **Brokuto:** Done!  >:) Kenma change his mind??

 _9:39_ \- **Kubroo:** He's about to change it right back. ty bro x 

He stared at the 'x' in disbelief as the message sent. He added it without even thinking about it. He groaned, throwing his head back onto the pillows and waiting for the response.

 _9:39_ \- **Brokuto:** Anytime baby xoxo 

That asshole.

He stared over at his wardrobe and mentally went through it, trying to think of an outfit. It wasn't hot or cold so his style wouldn't be handicapped by the weather.

_9:44_ \- **Kitten \^•^/:** Shouyou isnt getting there until 12 

_9:44_ \- **Kuroo:** You can hang out with me and Lev until he gets there :)

 _9:45_ \- **Kitten \^•^/:** thought you were trying to make me excited about this

That little shit.

With that problem averted, Kuroo pushed himself off the bed and over to his wardrobe, pulling black jeans and a white shirt out of the drawers and a red jacket from the hangers. Gotta represent in enemy territory.

He put the clothes on his bed and raised an arm, turning his head and sniffing. Kuroo jerked back reflectively, blinking back the shock. He then peered at his reflection in his mirror, fiddling with his hair.

_should at least try to make it look nicer._

He pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it into the laundry basket and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he placed his phone on the sink counter and stepped into the flow of water. 

He stood under the warm flow for a while, just standing there with his shower thoughts. He washed his hair and was moving on to wash the rest of him when he heard his message tone over the fall of water. 

He slid the shower curtain open, dried a hand on his towel and opened the message 

_10:12_ \- **Brokuto:** Just fyi i look adorable in this uniform. I mean everyone does but i look the cutest >:) 

He doesn't doubt that for a second. He was about to reply but he forgot he was talking to the king of double texting. More like quadruple texting. 

_10:12_ - **Brokuto:** The shorts are a bit shorter than our usual uniform but i dont think anyones gonna care...

 _10:12_ \- **Brokuto:** if you know

 _10:12_ - **Brokuto:** what i mean 

_10: 12_ - **Brokuto:** >;) 

Kuroo let his imagination run a bit too wild at that moment, accidently thinking about the length of the girls uniform shorts. 

_10:12_ - **Kubroo:** send pics ;) 

He's more serious about that text than he was willing to admit. He was about to put the phone down and finish cleaning himself but his phone buzzed again, Kuroo is also not proud to admit how quickly he unlocked his phone. 

He looked at the notification in the upper bar. Snapchat. He actually sent a snapchat. 

Kuroo considered leaving opening it until after his shower. He was already on the verge of a hard on just from thinking about Bokuto in the girls uniform. 

He sighed, biting his lip, staring at the notification. It could be nothing special. Knowing Bokuto it was either a selfie with crude drawing or a group photo. Or a meme...

He held his breath and opened snapchat, tapping on the message.

It was Bokuto and Akaashi standing in front of what he assumed was the change room mirrors and turns out Kuroo's imagination wasn't actually that far off.

They weren't quite as short as the girls uniform but they were close on first glance. The point is that they were short enough that you could plainly see where Bokuto's kneepads ended, leaving an eyecatching bit of thigh inbetween them and the shorts.

God he loves those fucking kneepads.

Kuroo took a deep breath, putting the phone down rather hurriedly and leaning his face against the shower screen. Trying to shut out his not so PG -13 thoughts.

He could feel his face growing hotter as he slowly moved his hand to his steadily growing erection.

_Was he really about to do this?_

He grabbed a hold of it hesitantly, before gripping it more firmly, sliding his hand up to the tip and back down. 

He groaned, planting his forearm on the shower wall and leaning his forehead on his arm as he slowly sped up, gradually building the pressure in his cock. 

He bit his lip trying to hold back a moan, the hand no longer his own in his mind, imagining lips on his neck, moving down his chest to his abdomen. He pressed his thumb down on the tip bucking his hips at the sudden pang of pleasure. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, the steam billowing around him only riling him up more. He could feel himself reaching his limit, completely lost in a fantasy world. Reaching down and curling his fist into the silver hair at his hips.

His mouth fell open in a pant as he came closer, a brief moan at his lips. He finally came with a gasp, a shudder running from his hips right up his back. 

His mind was hazed with kisses peppering his hips until knocks on the door snapped his out of his trance.

"Time to get out! it's almost 10:30 we have alot of driving to do" His mom shouted from outside the door. Kuroo gulped back his breathlessness.

"Alright sorry!" He called back and listened to the leaving footsteps. He slumped in his spot, aiming the shower head at the screen and quickly rinsing himself off before turning the taps off and stepping out, wrapping his towel around his waist.

He took a second towel and rubbed it through his hair, simultaneously trying to shake his head back normal. He glanced over at his phone of the counter, the screen slightly foggy. 

He picked it up, wiping the screen with the towel and saw Bokuto had sent him more messages.

 _10:12_ \- **Brokuto:** You like? >:) 

_10:16_ \- **Brokuto:** Or don't reply thats cool

 _10:20_ - **Brokuto:** Wow Kuroo i didnt think you'd like it _that_ much.

A heat rose from his stomach right up to his face.

_You dont know the half of it Bokuto..._


	4. Fun with feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo being really obvious by accident and and so much tension of all kinds.

Kuroo stared at the texts with a guilty feeling growing in his chest. He typed out a typical flirty answer and then deleted it, then typed out a sarcastic answer and deleted it. 

He wanted to scream, he pursed his lips, gripping his phone, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He didnt know how to act anymore... Everything felt wrong. Did he want to be friends with him or did he want more? All he wanted to do at the present time was crawl into a hole and never come out.

He _could_ just tell Bokuto... He would be fine with it, he proved that last night... Kuroo bit his lip, regretting not just telling Bokuto how he felt when he had the chance last night. Or maybe he could just repress it like a dark fantasy. Who knows which is the better option. He slowly shuffled out of the bathroom and back into his room, dropping the towel and got dressed. As he tied up the laces of his black boots, he stared down at his phone, picking it up and re-reading Bokuto's messages.

He typed and deleted the same message in twenty different ways for what felt like thirty minutes..

 _10:24_ \- **Kubroo:** Sorry, was getting ready. You're right, it's adorable. 

Even that answer felt gross and forced. Bokuto must have been waiting for a reply because it didn't take him long at all to text back. 

_10:24_ \- **Brokuto:** Ikr? i can't wait for u to get here and see all this! its even bigger than last year its awespmw! 

_10:24_ \- **Brokuto:** awesomr* 

_10:24_ \- **Brokuto:** Awesome**** jesus. 

Kuroo couldn't stop the smile from reaching his face. One way to tell how excited he was, was how many typos were in his texts. He didn't usually bother correcting himself though. 

Kuroo sprayed deodorant under his arms and moved back into the bathroom, avoiding looking at the shower as he dried his hair. He fiddled with the black locks in annoyance. It was like his damn hair stood up by itself. He'd considered growing it out so it might sit flatter. Or he might look like he'd time traveled from the 80's. He let the back do whatever it liked and swooped the front to the side. His last year of school was almost over, he wanted to try out some new hairstyles before university. 

He decided he actually likes being able to see out of his right eye and gelled it in place. Hearing his mom yelling that she was going to leave without him from downstairs, he checked himself out one last time before grabbing his phone and texting Kenma saying that they were on their way. As he got into the car he eyed his mom for just a few seconds, wondering how she would react to all of this if she knew what was going on in his head. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she and his dad would be supportive since they were aware of Kenma being gay and Bokuto being open to pretty much everything. As well as them being two of the parents that petitioned the school to start an LGBTQ support group, so he wasn't fearing being kicked out any time soon. But there was still something that made him nervous about it... Bokuto never hid it, he never bothered. He said 'People are gonna find out anyway so there's no point'. Kenma was similar to an extent but he still didn't like people talking about it. But then again that's Kenma in general. As the car set off down the street towards Kenma's home, Kuroo considered ways to inform his mom of his predicament and anyone else who he could talk to. 

It was nice living so near a close friend. It was good for both of them in a lot of ways. Kuroo helped -forced- Kenma out of his comfort zone when they were growing up and opened his friends group up to the younger boy and Kenma was a good source of a second opinion for Kuroo. Whenever he felt unsure about a decision or just needed reassurance he went to Kenma, and if Kenma could actually be bothered talking to him, it usually went well. He has a different point of view than most people. He's straight-forward and doesn't sugar coat anything, which Kuroo actually appreciates despite the younger male getting a little harsh at times. 

If he gets desperate enough. He'll consider asking Kenma what he thinks about his current situation. He wouldn't be surprised if he already knew to be honest, but he was certain he'd keep it a secret. Kenma doesn't like talking full stop, let alone gossip about other people's problems, so he was the best bet for venting. Yaku is a possibility, he's mature _enough_ and the teasing would be minimal once he realized Kuoo was 100% serious. Lev is a straight up no, Kuroo wouldn't put it passed him to fanboy and blab to Bokuto accidentally. Yamamoto isn't even an option. He'd arrive at practice the next day and everything he told him would be on a banner stretched across the gym, held up by the first years. 

As they turned the corner down Kenma's street Kuroo texted a 'here' message. He figured they'd be sitting out front of his house for at least five minutes otherwise. They stopped in front of the quaint, neat garden just as the front door opened and Kenma slowly stepped out, turning around to lock the door behind him and _slowly_ ambled over to the car. Kuroo got out and moved to the backseat with Kenma like he usually did. 

"Morning Kenma~ How are you?" Kuroo's mother chirped, peering into the rear-view mirror. Kenma mumbled an 'im fine', staring down at his game and she smiled, not expecting more of an answer than that. Kuroo stared beside him at his friend "I'll never understand how do you play that in the car without getting a headache..." he stated, peering over the game in other boys lap and what looked like the same level he had been stuck on since school on Friday. Kenma shrugged, pausing it when his phone vibrated. Kuroo smirked at the message "Still texting chibi-chan huh~?" 

Instead of replying, Kenma shuffled around so he was facing Kuroo but his phone screen was out of his sight before texting back to Hinata. Kuroo snickered, sitting back in his seat and staring out the window, preparing for the long drive across Tokyo. 

".. Kuroo" 

"Eh?" Kuroo had almost zoned out and blinked as he gave his attention to the boy beside him. "What is it?" 

Kenma didn't respond for a second, phone and game in his lap, looking over Kuroo somewhat curiously. 

"...Are you ok?" 

Kuroo tried to hide his surprise at the sudden concern. Kenma's not heartless but he doesn't usually take the time to delve into other people's emotions, feeling as though it's none of his business unless they come to him specifically. But Kuroo's noticed that he and Hinata are the exceptions in that respect. Kuroo's mom has the music turned right up so chances were she couldn't hear them, which may have been why Kenma chose this moment to speak up. 

He considered lying, but Kenma wouldn't have brought it up unless he'd noticed something obvious, so it would only heighten his suspicions if he tried to hide it. He really didn't want to have this conversation though... 

He paused for a bit, thinking of something that could maybe sway the conversation topic. A part of him felt bad for not being completely honest but he felt Kenma knew he'd tell him eventually. "Yeah i guess, just a lot on my mind at the moment.." he answered truthfully and Kenma nodded, turning back to his game, deciding not to pry any further. Kenma's observant, almost unsettlingly so, he can pick up on even the smallest of wavers in body language or speech and decipher five different causes in an instant. Kuroo smiled at the other boy even though he couldn't see it, appreciative of his setter for being there for him in his own way. 

After the long drive, now they were just a few minutes away from the Fukurodani school grounds, you could tell how busy it is. Cars backed up, slowly moving down the narrow suburban streets, hoards of teenagers and families crossing the streets, Kuroo rolled down his window a tiny bit and could hear what sounded like a Fukurodani chant of sorts, coming from a group of rowdy boys running down the streets. Kuroo rose an eyebrow at them, silently judging them and turned to Kenma with a smirk "Getting excited yet?"

"i don't like crowds." He said, ignoring the question and filing his complaints instead. Kuroo sighed and rolled the window back up, the obnoxious chanting beginning to annoy him "I'm sure Chibi-chan will be more than happy to hold your hand so you don't get lost." He side eyed his friend, waiting for a reaction and Kenma stared forward for a moment before returning to his game, shoulders slightly hunched, hair falling over his face. 

It was almost 11:30 by the time they found a parking space in all of the fuss. Bokuto wasn't kidding about it being massive. Climbing out of the car and looking directly up, Kuroo saw a plane doing skywriting, just finishing off the end of 'FETE', he nodded to himself as he ended his stretch, shaking the numbness out of his long legs. 

As they approached the schools gates they were greeted with black white and yellow balloons and streamers, and people -mainly children- running around with facepaint on-, as well as what looked like owl masks. Kuroo wondered if Bokuto doubled as a school mascot and would get sued if he ever changed his hairstyle. 

Kuroo glanced beside him to make sure Kenma was still following, he was looking around uncomfortably but Kuroo figured that would change when once Hinata arrived. Looking around he could see loads of students from his own school and others from all over, he actually recognized a decent amount of people. Not only that, he swears he saw Aoba Josai's captain and ace move off into the crowd up ahead. 

He rose his head to the sound of someone calling his name, only to be met with a smiling, waving Lev, his _beautiful_ sister, and Yaku looking somewhat awkward, standing in between the two taller beings, subtlety switching his gaze between the two of them. Kuroo couldn't help but immediately direct his attention to Alisa, she had an alluring aura to her, not just because she's gorgeous but also because radiated happiness and adoration. 

_Sort of like Bokuto._

Kuroo mentally shook back his thoughts and appeased his kohai's frantic greeting, lazily saluting Lev with two fingers, smiling at Alisa and smirking at Yaku, who was very clearly red-faced in a blush at the presence of Alisa.... or Lev, Kuroo had trouble telling sometimes. Kuroo noted his mother was having a mom-to-mom chat with the Haiba mother and figured that was his cue to leave unless he wanted to wait forty minutes for a break in their conversation. He stared at the woman for a moment. Judging by the height of her children he expected a massively tall woman but she wasn't any taller than Kuroo's mother, if not shorter. Their dad must be gigantic.

"Yamamoto-san is here too!" Lev excitedly informed the two arrivals "He ran off though, i don't know where..." 

"He sped off to go watch the cheerleaders." Yaku piped up, looking vaguely irritated. Alisa put her hands together at her chest, smiling sweetly at Kuroo and Kenma "Akane-chan is also! However she ran away to go watch the volleyball.." She sighed, her tone saddening slightly "I tried to tell her it didn't start until 12:30 but i don't think she listened to me." 

Kuroo was about to comment on that, but he was pretty eager to watch the volleyball too, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. Instead, slipping his hands into his pockets and scanning his surroundings, wondering where he could waste time until 12:30. He sort knew the layout of the giant Fukurodani grounds from training camps but only from the front gate up to the gyms. Luckily there were students handing out guides and maps, Kuroo took one and flicked through to the back page where he assumed the map would be. 

Kuroo's eyes locked onto text that said 'volleyball matches' next to the pink breast cancer ribbon and the Cancer Council logo. There were loads of charities and foundations on the guide. Save the Children, World Vision, Red cross, just to name a few. Turns out the volleyball matches were outside on the edge of the football field, which makes sense, the gyms aren't big enough to support a large audience. He glanced up just in time to watch Lev excitedly stride over to what looked like your typical carnival game, side show lane, staring at the 'Test your Strength' game with immense determination. 

Kuroo wandered up behind him and watched the man in front of Lev swinging the comically large hammer back and hitting the button. It only went up half way and it seemed to make Lev more excited. "You know these games are rigged right?" Kuroo asked blatantly and Lev gazed at him, innocent eyed as usual "We're at a charity fundraiser, why would anything be rigged? Its free anyway!" he exclaimed, turning back to the game.

"Yeah your first two tries are free. Then you have to pay, that's where they getcha." Kuroo explained to his naive teammate but it only made him even more determined. "Then i'll just do it on my first try!" he announced, running forward and grabbing the hammer off the man handling the game. He didn't do it on his first try, or his second, or his third. Alisa was giving him more and more money with the brightest smile on her face 'You can do it Lyovochka!' she kept saying. Kuroo sighed after his sixth or so turn, glancing to the side and spotting some of his friends from school and considered hanging out with them instead of his teammates. Then again none of them are into volleyball enough to want to accompany him to stare at Bokuto for two hours so he figured he would just say hello then make his leave. 

" _Who would have thought there was something the lanky lion was worse at than volleyball?_ "

Kuroo froze at the sound of the sneery, taunting voice, his face reflectively screwing up in disgust. He narrowed his eyes, turning his head to see the unpleasant face of Daishou Suguru, commenting back to who Kuroo assumed were his friends, to his surprise. All he knew is that he didn't recognize any of hem from the volleyball team. Kuroo groaned internally, not wanting to put up with this guys crap. "It's a little early for a snake like you to be out of hibernation isn't it?" Kuroo fired back at the Nohebi captain who merely grinned that same filthy smile that succeeds in royally pissing Kuroo off. 

"No need to be so feral _kitten_ , we're on neutral ground here! I'm here to support the cause just like you." The snake replied, His words sounding sincere but an undertone to his voice that was just filled to the brim with jeering, all but provoking Kuroo to lose his cool. Kuroo almost snarled at the nickname "I'll believe that when you say it where there's no audience to gawk at how _polite and generous_ you are." the Nekoma captain retorted bitterly, recalling the annoying behavior during their match in the prelims. It was their pesky tactic. Rile up the other team and make themselves look good by comparison by sucking up to the referee. No such thing as real sportsmanship in a game with the snakes, and every team in Tokyo knows it.

Daishou feigned offense, putting a hand on his chest "Oh Kuroo-Chan~ So rude! How would your friends and teammates react to the kitty captain of Nekoma acting so bitterly?" the sneering only grew with his smirk and Kuroo was at the edge of his patience. 

"Kenma hold me back." 

"I'd actually prefer it if you punched him." Kenma deadpanned, not taking his eyes off his phone.

The Nohebi captain clicked his tongue, shaking his head disapprovingly "I guess some people never change... I wonder how Bokuto-Chan would feel about his kitten being so unpleasant.." 

The Nekoma teammates actually think they heard their captain growl at that comment. Somehow the snake knew bringing Bokuto into the conversation would tip him over the edge. Another positively filthy quality of his. 

"Don't talk about him like you're his friend just 'cause you were forced to be pleasant at the Interhigh's. Since your little irritation technique didn't work on Fukurodani." Kuroo rose an eyebrow, smirking at the look of distaste on the snake captains face when he brought up Nohebi's defeat at the Interhigh's by Fukurodani's hands. 

Their team is pretty well-rounded in terms of level-headedness. As a group, they entirely make up for Bokuto's more erratic tendencies. But even so, as Kuroo recalled the match, Bokuto was unaffected by Nohebi's tauntings and insults. Kuroo didn't want to say it was because Bokuto was too slow to comprehend the fact that they were insulting him, but... that was pretty much the reason. He'd watch them with confusion as they snickered and pointed at him, and where other people would automatically assume they were making fun of him, Bokuto just shrugged his shoulders like he was watching a leaf fall from a tree, completely uninterested. It has a lot to do with his confidence levels in a way. High school students are insecure and concerned about the opinions of their peers but Bokuto just...isn't. He really never has been. 

Daishou brushed off the comment rather quickly, returning to his sneer "Maybe it's just because Bokuto's so much easier to get along with than you... _Feral kitten._ " 

"Call me kitten one more **fucking** time i dare y-" 

"Wow look at the time!! we're gonna miss the cheerleaders if we stay here any longer!" Yaku abruptly butted in as Kuroo surged forward, grabbing on of Kuroo's arms and instructing Lev to do the same, dragging him backwards, in the direction of the football fields. "It was nice seeing you again Daishou-Chan! have a great time, we'll see you later!" Yaku smiled though gritted teeth, not wanting to see the snake captain again but also not wanting to be involved in Kuroo making a scene. It was only a matter of time before the exchanging of witty insults turned to Kuroo swinging a fist. Which Kuroo didn't do. At all. He's the complete opposite of a violent person, mainly shrugging off anything that annoys him and smirking through some snarky comment to make himself feel better. But that Daishou just had a way of getting on every one of Kuroo's nerves without fail. 

Once the Nohebi captain was out of sight, Yaku and Lev released Kuroo, who stood up and muttered something under his breath. Straightening his jacket a letting out a huff, putting the infuriating encounter out of his mind. "Kenma, text Chibi-chan and tell him to meet us at the first football field..." He reminded Kenma, not wanting the little redhead to get lost. Besides, the sooner Kenma -and possibly Lev- were with Hinata, it gave Kuroo the opportunity to leave them to their own devices and have a relaxing day instead of looking after them. "..He's coming with friends right?" 

Kenma nodded into his phone, having a surprising amount of skill at waking and texting simultaneously "Some of his teammates are coming... the captain and the motherly setter... the libero, the loud one and the small manager... possibly others." 

"You do know their names right?" Kuroo asked quizzically and Kenma blatantly ignored him, returning to tapping on his phone. Kuroo shifted his eyes back to the route in front of him, picking up the echoed sound of cheering and a group of girls chanting rhythmically. There was a crowd of people in the bleachers watching the cheerleaders performing, to no ones surprise. According to Bokuto, Fukurodani's cheerleaders have won their national competition for the past two years in a row for their routines. He remembers being dragged along earlier in the year by Yamamoto, not that Kuroo could tell the difference between a good and bad routine besides from if they were all moving at the same time with the music or not. They all looked cute doing it, that was his only real opinion on the sport. 

Making their way up into an empty space in the bleachers, Yaku spotted Yamamoto down in the front, gawking and cheering happily at the girls. Yaku promptly moved down to mother him and cease the obnoxiously loud cheering, Kuroo absentmindedly watched the cheerleaders. Their uniforms were the same color combination as the volleyball uniform, white front, long black sleeves and black skirts with yellow trim. They also had short yellow scarves tied neatly around their necks like you'd see on an airplane hostess. There was a banner for ovarian cancer laid out in front of the cheerleaders, Kuroo assumed that's what the extra yellow was for. When a girl came by handing out ribbons, Kuroo took two and gave one to Kenma, who initially ignored it before clipping it to his collar. Kuroo intended to fill the front of his shirt up with ribbons and stickers and turn Kenma into a pin board, so he was happily accepting every ribbon that was offered to him. 

He glanced beside him to see Lev and Alisa happily clapping along to the music, both of them sporting a series of ribbons as well. Just offside from his line of sight, he spotted a group of pink uniforms, standing off to the side, watching the cheerleaders and chatting among themselves. Kuroo can clearly see Bokuto standing with Akaashi and the two managers behind the front line of boys who were ogling at the dancing girls. Most of them are first year non-regulars but he's pretty sure he can see Konoha and Komi in the group as well. 

He wondered if they were busy and if he could go and see Bokuto or not. Feeling eyes settling on him, he looked down beside him to see Kenma staring at him curiously. 

"What?" 

"Nothing." Kenma curtly replied and went back to texting Hinata. Kuroo pursed his lips, knowing that the second year suspected something. He stood up and moved down the edge of the bleachers, finding the stairs and making his way down the side where half the volleyball team were standing. As he neared closer Kuroo became less sure of his actions. 

_Really Kuroo? you're just gonna waltz on up to him after what you did less than 2 hours ago?_

Kuroo suddenly felt flustered, heat rising to his face, stopping dead in his tracks, shrinking back behind a group of boys around Kuroo's height. A nauseous feeling arose in his stomach, he silently cursed himself, racking his brain to try and act normally. But his heart was hammering, he was stupid to think he could just go back to how he was _before_ he jacked off thinking about Bokuto. Kuroo groaned, sitting down beside a confused random and put his head in his hands, trying to balance his breathing and his frantic heart. 

"Kuroo?"

_Fuck._

Kuroo whipped his head up to see Bokuto standing directly in front of him, staring down at him with a mix of confusion of concern written on his face. Kuroo immediately stood up, taking a cautious step back so he wasn't standing so unbearably close to the other male. "Oh hey! Everything set up?" Kuroo questioned quickly, trying to sound as casual as possible. Bokuto smiled rather uncertainly "Yeah we got that done pretty quickly, you can dunk we into a tub of water at 3:00" He laughed, returning his face to the mildly concerned expression. "Are you alright?" 

Kuroo gulped, letting out a short huff of a laugh "Ah.. yeah i'm okay man, i was coming down to see you and i felt a little dizzy all of a sudden so i sat down..." Kuroo held his head for added effect, Bokuto now scanning is face worriedly. "Seriously? You sure you're ok?" Bokuto rose a hand to Kuroo's cheek, most likely to check if it was hot and Kuroo hurriedly grasped Bokuto's hand before he could make contact with his face, holding it gently for a few seconds before lowering it and releasing it "I'm fine, it's gone now, i'll just go buy a bottle of water somewhere." 

Bokuto, who looks ever-so-slightly taken aback by the subtle rejection, nodded his head behind him "Don't worry, we have a cooler with loads in it, you can have one, or a few. If you pass out i won't be happy." He stated turning around and walking down the rest of the stairs. Kuroo was more than happy to walk behind him and gaze at the others backside in the pink shorts. Bokuto has always has a very... _shapely_ backside, almost like a girls butt. Kuroo raised his head, his composure returned to him just as Bokuto turned around to speak to him. He's caught Kuroo staring at his ass more than once and laughed about it, it wouldn't be weird, Bokuto takes it as a compliment. Besides, Kuroo isn't the only one who takes time to examine Bokuto's curvaceous booty. 

_Great, now i made myself jealous again._

"Are you sure you're gonna be ok walking around all day? there's a few first aid tents around, i can take you to one-.." 

"I'm fine Bokuto. Quit worrying." he consoled gently, appreciating the concern but feeling somewhat guilty for making him worry for a false reason. Bokuto pouted just a little, approaching the others in pink and bending over to fetch a bottle of water out of the cooler for Kuroo. The Nekoma captain wasn't even subtle about staring this time, he'd become a master at lowkey perving, most of the time there was nothing sexual behind it, more just him appreciating the view. But in this case it was a bit of everything. Bokuto handed him a refreshingly cold bottle of water and turned his attention back to the cheerleaders, switching his gaze between them and Kuroo. 

Kuroo stiffened at the attention, distracting himself with the water, taking a few swigs and wiping his mouth, making eye contact with Bokuto at the last minute. "No matter how long you look at me like that, i'm not gonna wear the uniform." he joked, grinning at the pink tinge that found its way to the ace's cheeks. 

Bokuto laughed, elbowing Kuroo's arm "Not what i was thinking about." he half scolded "But if you offered i wouldn't complain." Kuroo scoffed and the other side eyed him yet again. Kuroo was beginning to get nervous, he wasn't confident in his ability to consistently hide his affection. 

"So you like them right?" Bokuto pointed at the cheerleaders and Kuroo rose an eyebrow. "Doesn't everyone?" he countered with a smirk and Bokuto rephrased. 

"I mean, do you like girls running around in short skirts?" 

"Doesn't everyone?" 

"Why are you like this Kuroo?" 

Kuroo snickered, taking his eyes off the girls and onto Bokuto. "What's the purpose of this question exactly?" Kuroo questioned, crossing his arms and Bokuto shrugged. "Just wondering what you are." 

Kuroo put on a skeptical expression "Im just a human, teenage boy who would look hella fine in a skirt, but would need sufficient funds to partake in that sort of activity." 

"What if i just got you really drunk?" 

"That's not fair! drunk me is fearless." 

"Heh, yeah, im sort of in love with him." 

Kuroo's knees would have buckled if he had let them. He averted his eyes instantly, only responding with semi nervous laughter and shifted on his feet, finding a reason to check up on Kenma. He spotted a few new faces up on the bleachers and realised it was the Karasuno team. Kenma had put both his game away and now had his full attention on Hinata, awkwardly flicking around with his phone everynow and then out of his anxious tendencies. 

"Get in there Kenma." Kuroo said to himself quietly 

"What?" Bokuto glanced at him and Kuroo chuckled the awkwardness away "Nothing, just Kenma and Chibi-chan... What were you saying before?" Bokuto followed Kuroo's finger up to the spot on the bleachers where Hinata was excitidly babbling to Kenma. He smiled and felt the urge to wolf whistle but he decided against it. 

"Oh y'know. Was just tryna figure you out..."

Kuroo's heart stopped. What does that mean? Did Bokuto notice something? He fiddled with his hands that were quickly growing sweaty and tried his best to play it off. "How so?" he asked, his voice jagged. 

Bokuto stared at him, a curious expression planted on his face. "Well it's just because last night you...y'know, came out to me." He said the last part a little quieter putting a hand to the side of his face "..but i don't actually know what you're specifically interested in. I mean i know what your type is but, like, are you Bi? Pan? there was another one... i think it was Demi-something...." he trailed off in his own thoughts and Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief. 

He had been thinking about that though, he had never considered it before. Honestly Kuroo's always been pretty easy going with that sort of thing, if he likes someone, he likes them, no matter who they were. That was the long and the short of it. He guessed he did care somewhat about appearance but it wasn't the most important detail about a person if he _really_ liked them. 

He took the time to examine Bokuto. He hadn't bothered doing his hair up and it was flopping over his forehead. Of course because of the constant gelling, it didn't sit flat and had a bit of a bounce to it. You could actually still clearly see the black streaks through the silver. Kuroo preferred it like this, it made him look cute. He's always cute, but instead of the 'friendly bff' cute, it was the 'I want to shower you with my affection, see you blush and make you moan' cute. 

He scratched the back of his head, not taking his eyes off Bokuto. "Lets just go with bi for now" he replied, watching Bokuto's exterior perk up. "Great! gotta know my options for when we go out on the town and im your wingman." Bokuto chirped with a wink and Kuroo inwardly gasped. Bokuto's 18th birthday is coming up! He had almost forgotten. He opened his phone and checked the date, it was just over two weeks away. 

Kuroo doesn't turn 18 until November which would postpone their 'nights on the town' until then. Kuroo pondered for a few moments. What present do you get for a guy like Bokuto? He never shows a particular interest in anything you can purchase and his parents are rich, so they probably fill in the blanks. He recalled last year that Akaashi made him a personalized calendar with all the photos being of him and his friends and the events on the days were things like; 'The day Konoha got his head stuck in a fence' and 'The anniversary of Bokuto and Akaashi's friendship'. Bokuto teared up. He's always seemed to prefer home made gifts rather than his friends spending money on him. Problem with that is that Kuroo has an inability at being creative. Akaashi is a photography student, he would have learned how to make a calendar in class, but none of Kuroo's classes were artsy at all. 

Kuroo leaned his head back and gazed up at the plane which was re-writing 'FETE' on the other side of the school. The sounds of cheers slowly came to a halt as the cheerleaders ran off the 'stage' in a neat line, passed where the volleyballers were standing. A few of them smiled and waved at Bokuto as they passed, one of them poking his stomach and making him giggle. Kuroo stared at the girls with stiffened features, possesively placing a hand in the middle of the aces back without realizing it. 

Bokuto turned to him, taking the contact as a sign that Kuroo had something to say to him. "Hm?" Bokuto questioned with a closed mouth. Kuroo just said what was on his mind "What do you want for your birthday?" Kuroo sild his hand down lower on the others back, finger tips curling over his hip. Bokuto grinned, eyes narrowing coyly. "I can think of something i've wanted for a while.." he swung an arm back and grabbed Kuroo's ass, rough enough to make Kuroo wince. 

Bokuto laughed and turned to yell at his first years, telling them to gather up their things and grab the volleyballs to start practising, then laughed harder as Kuroo rubbed his now sore butt. The Nekoma captain stared at him with a thin smile on his face. "You can have it anytime you like.." 

He mentally froze. _Why did i say that? stop encouraging the unbearable flirting, I'm going to implode._

Bokuto snickered, holding up a finger to Kuroo so signal a pause in the conversation and turned around to instruct his team. "Hey Akaashi! could ya' make sure the first years stretch before they start practising? I'll be over there in a minute." he called behind him to his vice captain and the one in question nodded with a 'Yes Bokuto-san' before rounding up the younger teammates. 

Kuroo watched on curiously, and Bokuto answered his wordless question. "We have quite a few... excitable first years on the team. I mean it's great that they're so keen but, they forget to stretch, they injure themselves, they're clumsy..." Bokuto sighed, propping his hands up on his hips. "They'll get the hang of it eventually. Akaashi'll whip 'em into shape next year." he finished with a chuckle and Kuroo smiled. The two of them had come to terms with graduating, It was coming to an end quicker than either of them were expecting. The volleyball season came and went, exams were coming up, now they just had to survive until the end. 

Bokuto's face lit up, like he'd just seen something amazing. Turns out he'd remembered something. "Oh! Kuroo! Dude!" He yelped excitidly. Kuroo side eyed him, no wonder his first years like him so much. Bokuto spun around and beamed at him, leaning into Kuroo's personal space. Kuroo tried his best not to laugh at his friend, pursing his lips with raised eyebrows. "Ok just wait for this." He said holding both his hands up like he was about to reveal a magic trick. "I was talking to Yukie just before! she told me she's moving in with a bunch of her friends after graduation." 

"Wow Bokuto, i never expected you to turn into Yamamoto and the baldy from Karasuno" Kuroo feigned dissaproval and Bokuto scrunched up his nose on annoyance. "No! I'm saying..." he slapped his hands onto Kuroo's shoulders "We should move in together! After we graduate!" 

Kuroo's eyes went wide, blinking at the ace in surprise. It's not that he didn't want to, _of course_ he wanted to, if Bokuto had brought this up six months ago, he would have been just as delighted and enthusiastic at the idea as Bokuto was. But there was obviously something hanging over Kuroo that prevented him from agreeing instantly. 

_Living_ with Bokuto. Actually living _with_ him. They spend alot of time together sure, but Kuroo actually appreciates the time he has on his own to wallow in self pity about being in love with his best friend. 

_In love...? oh...god... i'm in love with him aren't i? Nope. Can't do this. Nopenopenopenopenopenope...-_

"Aha... you serious Bokuto?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to shut him down completely. Bokuto wasn't phased though, he just kept on hopping excitidly. "Of course im serious! You're going to Keio next year aren't you?" 

"If i get accepted, yeah..." Kuroo said quietly. One more thing for him to be anxious about. 

Bokuto grinned wildly "I'm going to Waseda! They're about 30 minutes away from eachother, so if we get an apartment in Kojimachi somewhere, it'll be a 15 minute ride for each of us, less time if we take the trains! CAN YOU SEE THE POSSIBILITES!" 

Kuroo sighed "Having an area in mind is one thing dude, but actually getting a place there, right when we want one, is _completely_ different-" 

Kuroo was cut off by Bokuto shoving his phone into his face, still practically shaking with excitment. "Already got that covered! There's a brand new apartment building in Kojimachi. I looked into it and they're pretty much _expecting_ university students to move into it!" 

"Bokuto-"

"Plus Kojimachi isnt too far out of the way from your house! more specifically Kenma so we can still keep an eye on him.." 

"Bokut-"

"The rent's not too expensive at all! we could live their on casual work, let alone part time work. Also look how pretty all the flats are!" 

"That's... that's really nice Bokuto but-" 

"Besides from all that, I'm good with electronics, plumbing and furniture 'n' shit, you're tidy and understand how to pay bills and sign contracts and stuff. I'm not... _too_ good at cooking..BUT I can follow a recipe well enough! I've only set fire to my kitchen once- erm... twice.." 

Kuroo didn't even have the energy to try anymore. He just let him finish. He didn't have a good reason to reject anyway. 

"And we can always learn how to cook different things! Then that means we can go shopping for furniture and kitchen stuff together and we can decide on how all the rooms are gonna look and then when we're moved in we can go out together or just hang out at home and if we don't feel like cooking we could go get dinner somewhere or order in...." The speed of Bokuto's pitch slowed, now sounding like he was wishfully imagining it in his head as he said it, smiling to himself fondly. 

Kuroo could feel his heart swelling, a soft smile he had no control over, fighting its way onto his face. 

"Aha... sorry, i've been looking into this for a while... I just really like the idea of living with someone y'know? and you were the first person i thought of." Bokuto admitted and Kuroo had to bite the inside of his cheek, recalling how Bokuto spends his days he isn't at school or with Kuroo, alone in his house. Ever since he was a kid.

"But it sounds great! Don't you think?" Bokuto looked on hopefully directly into the eyes of his friend, finally allowing him to speak, awaiting an answer. 

Of course it sounds great. They'd be the perfect roomates, no question about it. But would Kuroo be able to deal with it? and is that a good enough reason to turn his friend down?. 

No. It's not. 

It's either, Kuroo tells Bokuto hes scared about moving in with his because he's harboring romantic feelings for him. Or he pushes that aside and moves in with his best friend. 

Kuroo let a short laugh out his nose, his hands on his hips, returning Bokuto to his line of sight. "You've really thought of everything haven't you?" 

Bokuto grinned and nodded. Kuroo knew this was a long term commitment, he knew that he would have to put every bit of his focus into not letting his feelings slip. But the longer he looked at Bokuto, beaming happily at him, he soon found it impossible to say no to him. 

"Well in that case, hell yeah buddy. We're gonna need some time after grad to sort it all out though..." Kuroo replied, assuming Bokuto hadn't thought about the specifics or the moving out process. Bokuto's nodded in agreement, shrugging. "We can work out how to move out once we get to that part. Until then!..." 

Bokuto glanced over at the girls and boys volleyball teams practising on the courts. Bokuto's expression paled slightly, clearly forgetting about the matches he was scheduled to play. 

"Until then.." he repeated. "I have to go play volleyball... but i'll see you after! come by the dunk machines for a bit!" he smiled, beginning to walk backwards towards the temporary volleyball court. 

Kuroo snickered, he would forget his head if it wasn't attached to his neck. "Sure thing dude, i'll be watching so don't screw up" he joked and waved him off. Bokuto gave him one final grin before running over to his team. Kuroo let out what felt like the 50th sigh of the day and slowly moved to the bleachers, joining the group of people heading over to watch the volleyball. 

He rejoined with Kenma who was walking with Hinata. He was fine third wheeling until they caught up with the others. They had been walking for less than thirty seconds when Kenma spoke up, not taking his eyes off his phone. 

"You have a crush on Bokuto don't you?" It was more a statment than a question and Kuroo stayed silent, Hinata giving all the reactions the situation needed. 

"REALLY!?" Hinata gasped, stars in his eyes. Kuroo glared down at Kenma who continued his streak of ignoring him and Kuroo switched his gaze to Hinata. 

"If you say anything to Bokuto i'll never forgive you." Kuroo said with a serious undertone, he didn't really mean it, but scare tactics work well on the shrimp. 

Hinata pursed his lips and saluted. Kuroo nodded at the boy and smirked down at Kenma. "But i bet i can confess to Bokuto sooner than Kenma can confess to you." He added quickly, both of the shorter boys freezing in place as Kuroo kept walking, Hinata's face shocked but still looking as though he needed confirmation. Kenma's grip on his phone tightened, looking up out of the top of his eyes, glaring at Kuroo. 

"Oops, did i say that? My bad. I'll see you two later!" He chirped, waving over his shoulder at the younger boys. Kenma will make him regret that later. But now Kuroo having a crush on Bokuto will come second place to Kenma returning Hinata's feelings, in terms of what he can shout about to all of his teammates. 

Kuroo smiled to himself. Reaching the seats by the volleyball court just as the boys and girls teams lined up. All of the non-regulars were in their full gear so it looked like they were doing a larger rotation so everyone on the teams played during these games. 

He sat down beside Daichi, who gave his usual hearty greeting and Kuroo have a half hearted wave with a grin. He tried his best to play off how his heart skipped a beat when Bokuto waved and winked at him as he lined up to begin the game. Kuroo smiled brightly back at him. 

_I'm so screwed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs* Yes... yes you are Kuroo.
> 
> Not gonna lie. I sorta love Nohebi ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> i gotta love the nasty little bastards.
> 
> Also in reference to their after school plans. I was going to have them go to the same college and share a dorm but then i figured the two of them would be very ambitious with their university plans and that their individual goals would take them to two different uni's.  
> I did alot of googling and discovered Keio uni is a medical science uni (one of my favourite Kuroo career headcanons)  
> and Waseda is known for their sports science and health programs. (because i see Bokuto becoming a personal trainer or a gym teacher because theres nothing he's better at than encouraging people ok)  
> I just felt the need to clarify. Excuse me if you dont care and just want them to fuck. im done now dw..


	5. The good times and the drunk times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo thinks back to simpler times...  
> also unrequited love + alcohol isn't a great mix.
> 
>  
> 
> N/ Mw this has been done for about 2 weeks but i wanted to update BATF before this one... but i got stuck, so i wanted to update SOMETHING, you feel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> extra long bc i love you guys.
> 
> unless you dont like long chapters, in that case im so sorry...
> 
>  
> 
> i should just rename this story's summary "kuroo learns how to be gay" because that's where im going with it.
> 
>  
> 
> im literally gonna do it.

These feelings didn't pop up out of nowhere. They've been building for quite some time. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that they've been trekking up the wall that Kuroo mentally built to keep out the gay thoughts. But they're here now so all he can do is deal with them. 

Back in first year, at Kuroo's very first high school training camp, he met Bokuto. He was a little different in first year but then again so is everyone. Nobody leaves high school the same person they were when they entered. In Bokuto's case, he was a little quieter, just a little, it's more that he was less confident. Kuroo figured that when Akaashi arrived, he made Bokuto feel important enough to strive to be the ace and captain he is today. But before that he was just... well, there. 

Unlike Kuroo, in first year he wasn't a regular. However he was occasionally used as a surprise spiker because of the insane power he put behind them, like how Kuroo was somewhat of a pinch middle blocker due to his size -except blocking was essentially all he was really good at-... Don't tell Lev. 

Bokuto didn't seem to mind though. His obsession with volleyball came to light over his highschool years, the more he was noticed and praised for his talents. Kuroo recalls what he said to Tsukishima in their last training camp. How he 'only recently started to think volleyball was fun'. Because he had 'his moment'. Surprisingly wise. 

Kuroo was the opposite. He was a bright and excitable first year -if not a little snarky- keen on anything and everything to do with volleyball. There was nothing he hated more than being on the bench. Fortunately by the end if his first year he was basically guaranteed a spot as a permanent regular when the third years graduated. High school developed his more level-headed behaviour whereas high school seemed to do the opposite to Bokuto in some respects. 

He was unassuming and blended in. What initially made Kuroo notice him was when he was pulled into a match by Fukurodani's captain at a crucial moment of the first set and spiked right inbetween Kuroo's arms. Kuroo remembered the distinct burning sensation where the ball sped past his arm, making contact with the skin just enough to make friction. He remembers making eye contact with him when he landed, Bokuto looking more surprised than Kuroo was that he actually scored. When Bokuto tried to do it again however, Kuroo blocked it, slamming it back down on the other side of the net. It stung, the impact on the skin of his forearms causing a painful heat to rise from them. But he couldn't care less. His feet planted on the ground, he watched the ball bounce and roll off the court, then raised his head to see the spiker he shut down. 

"That was AMAZING!" 

The spiker beamed at him. Kuroo felt a surging sense of elation at the compliment. The spiker was immediately scolded by his captain "Stop encouraging the opponents!-.." and something more that made Kuroo realize they had had that conversation many times before. 

Late in the evening, when most of the teams were packing up to go rest in the rooms, hang out, get ready for dinner and so on, Bokuto approached him out of the blue. 

"Hey! you're that Nekoma middle blocker right?" he didn't give Kuroo enough time to answer, Kuroo just widened his eyes a bit in shock at the boy running up behind him. 

"Practice with me!" 

And they did. For the rest of the week, they did the exact same thing. Except on the last night of the training camp when they stopped early and just sat and talked for a while. They had a lot in common and they didn't even talk about volleyball once. They would have stayed in there if one of the third year managers from Shizen didn't come to get them. Once she popped her head in, told them dinner was on soon and left, Kuroo looked over to the sleepy Bokuto, lying back, eyes closed with a volleyball on his chest. Not even sure if he noticed the manager or not. 

"C'mon we gotta go. You don't wanna miss dinner do you?" Kuroo leaned over him, taking the volleyball out of his arms and tossing it into the bin with the others. Bokuto hummed in response, head flopping to the side. "Carry me~" 

Kuroo scoffed. Honestly he could have, there was a point when Bokuto was quite a bit shorter and definitely lighter than Kuroo, but then again a lot of people were shorter than Kuroo since he started growing early. He had already breached the 180's by first year while Bokuto was still half way through the 170's. Kuroo admits he misses the times when he had Bokuto's bright eyes gazing up at him. Kuroo takes his height very seriously and occasionally exaggerates... But the 2cms between their height now really isn't a lot. You can barely even notice it when they stand together. 

"Jeez..." He got up and stood over Bokuto's legs, bending down to grab his arms and pull him up to a sitting position. He crouched down between his legs and finally managed to pull him upright. Bokuto wasn't helping at all. By the time Kuroo got him to a point where he could sit, he just slumped forward. Kuroo had to tilt his head to the side so he didn't get headbutted and Bokuto just rested his forehead in the crook of Kuroo's neck. 

This moment was very important in retrospect. Kuroo stiffened at the contact, felt a heat rise to his face... why though? He didn't like Bokuto, his opinion of him was pretty neutral. So why? because he was kinda cute? Kuroo didn't even try to move him, instead he just held him there, caught up in his own confusing thoughts. A boy? cute? No way, that doesn't make any sense. 

"You're comfy" Bokuto smiled into his neck. Kuroo forced a laugh, tilting his head further, relieving the tickling sensation on his neck which felt particularly sensitive at that moment. Kuroo took a deep breath, and wrapped his arms around his back, hoisting him up onto his feet, all while Bokuto lazily slumped into him. Eventually Kuroo got him onto his feet and Bokuto chuckled a 'thanks' and skipped out of the gym, leaving Kuroo in a daze. He waited outside for Kuroo to join him and they walked to dinner together, Bokuto rambling on and Kuroo forcing anything and everything he had been thinking out of his head. _I'm being ridiculous_

And he left it at that. He never questioned it again for another year and a half. They exchanged numbers but he and Bokuto didn't see each other for a while. Not until a few months later, after the spring tournament and the volleyball season was over for the year when Bokuto called him and invited him out to lunch. He's especially proactive when it comes to making friends. If he's got you in your sights there's no getting out of it. You're his friend now, be happy about it. 

Kuroo was. They started hanging out regularly after that. They lived a ten minute train ride away from each other but it was easy enough to keep in touch when both parties are keen to see one another. By the time second year training camp rolled around, the two of them were as bro as bro's could be. Bokuto had filled out and closed the gap in their height so Kuroo no longer had the excuse that he _just_ thought he was cute, since he was short and bright eyed. Because he wasn't cute -in that sense- anymore... he was... manly, to an extent. Physically. But Kuroo was still into it. No matter how much he denied it, he was into it. 

He didn't start calling it a crush until very recently. He ignored it most of the time. It was just something that sat at the back of his head and poked at his brain. He wasn't even sure if he could have called it a crush until third year, but it had definitely been coming for a while... just, slowly building. What started off as Bokuto being the first boy he thought was sort of cute, eventually turned into not being able think straight when he's standing next to him. Easy to say, Kuroo lied about why he dumped his last girlfriend. Well, part of it was true. He really did trust Bokuto's opinion when it came to people, but added onto the fact that he chickened out when she last initiated sex because he didn't want to accidentally think about Bokuto again... and also refused to meet her parents because of how conservative her dad is... there were a lot of other factors. She isn't like her dad. He doesn't think so anyway... maybe that's what the bad feeling Bokuto got was? 

Kuroo has a lot of things to work out. But that's life isn't it? You work out who you are. Maybe he is actually gay. Or maybe his crush on Bokuto is just so intense he can't bring himself to think about anyone else. Not even hypothetically. Despite everything, he was pretty calm. That sounds like a lie but at least he has the reassurance of knowing that their friendship won't be affected when he eventually confesses. He needed to hurry up and get it out of the way so he could breathe properly again.

**\----**

Kuroo clapped along with everyone else, the two teams bowing at the end of the three matches. The girls managed to snatch their second win at the end of three games, each with three sets. Kuroo was glad to see Bokuto didn't have one of his episodes... then again, it's for charity and there was no high stake on winning so he assumed Bokuto was calm enough. He looked like he was having a good time, so did everyone else playing. It was a friendly trio of matches, fun to watch although Kuroo and some of the other volleyballers watching found themselves coaching from the audience. 

The two captains stepped forward and said a few planned words in relation to their charity, no doubt scripted by the coach and their club coordinator. Kuroo could tell Bokuto was improvising since he probably forgot what he was supposed to say, but he made it work. It's likely that nobody expected him to remember anyway. They finished by directing everyone to the area of the school grounds with the dunk machines, a stage where the schools music class was performing, bouncing castles... there was even a mechanical bull. Kuroo's gonna pretend a part of him doesn't secretly want to have a go.

The dunk machines were fun. Kuroo stuck around and watched. It was amusing watching all the beefy guys running up to the dunker with a girl sitting in it and pitching the ball like a baseballer, and failing. These things are easy to win. You don't have to throw the ball hard at all. A light bump is more than enough to set off the dunk. 

Kuroo snickered when he spotted Akaashi excusing himself for the eighth time as Sarukui exited the tub, clearly having no plans on getting wet. Bokuto stepped up after a bit of egging on from the other players, slipping off his shoes and hopping up into the little seat. Konoha immediately snuck in front of the machine and hit the button, dropping Bokuto into the water. Kuroo threw his head back laughing. Earlier, Bokuto had gotten a little girl who was spectating, to run up and press the button while Konoha was up there. Before that Konoha straight up dipped a bucket into the tub and tossed it at Bokuto. They had it out for each other for some reason... It was all playful though. Kuroo planned on asking later. 

"How's the water captain~!?" Konoha taunted, peering over the edge of the tub. 

Bokuto splashed him and Konoha made a mocking heart with his fingers, to which Bokuto responded by flipping him off. He quickly retracted it when he realized little kids were still present. 

The captain lifted himself up effortlessly, water dripping off his body, the pink jersey sticking to his frame. Kuroo gulped and moved his eyes to the other machine. Bokuto propped himself back up on the seat whilst the younger manager, Kaori, scolded the teams saying that none of them were allowed to mess with the machines anymore. The older one, Yukie, stood off to the side, pretending she didn't hit the button herself on the other machine when Kaori wasn't looking. 

People had been standing by it since it opened, contemplating stepping up to throw the ball. A few of the pre-dunked team members were running around handing out balls, encouraging people to have a try. Kuroo was tempted, so he took a ball from the girls team's vice captain when she offered it to him. He tossed it to himself as he absentmindedly chatted with Daichi about this and that. He's aiming for the same university as Kuroo so it would be cool knowing someone on campus for his first year. He glanced beside him at Karasuno's blonde manager. She was standing behind the older one like she was using her as a shield, eyeing the people handing out the balls. 

Without thinking about it too much, he held his arm out to her and offered the ball. She looked downright terrified that Kuroo was looking at her. He was a little offended, he's not scary... ok he's not _too_ scary. He smiled and flicked his wrist holding the ball a little, signalling for her to take it "You wanna have a go?" 

She didn't look any less terrified. It was like she was having an inner monologue and wasn't actually paying attention to him. The two second year Karasuno regulars, Nishinoya and Tanaka, noticed Kuroo and instantly began cheering her on. 

"GO-GO-YA-CHI, GO-GO-YA-CHI..." 

After frantically rejecting the offer, she looked between the three of them and hesitantly took the ball and shuffled forward. She let about three people go before her, then another two, all of them missing until Kiyoko gently pushed her forward into the pitchers spot. Bokuto noticed her and gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up. It seemed to make her feel a little better because about ten seconds later she worked herself up enough to lightly lob it, the ball barely hitting the edge of the button, but enough to set it off. 

Bokuto popped out of the water for the second time, ruffling his hair with a laugh and waving what looked like an 'i'm ok' signal to Yachi. She bowed to him in a fluster before returning to her spot behind Kiyoko. 

Kuroo watched Bokuto climb out of the tub, down the ladder, not-so-subtly admiring the wet frame. The captain pointed at Akaashi and then to the tub and the vice captain held up his hand and shook his head. 

Some of the players looked cold and uncomfortable, so they started wrapping it up, the managers handing out ribbons and recommending other places for the spectators to go, but Bokuto was adamant on getting Akaashi on the dunk seat. He ran up to him and Akaashi turned on his heel to run away but was cut off by Onaga. In a second, Bokuto grabbed him, wrapping his arms around him and lifting him off the ground. 

"BOKUTO-SAN NO-" Akaashi scolded, arms pinned to his side by his captain. Just as Sarukui tipped the bucket over them. It mainly got Akaashi but Bokuto knew he'd have to sacrifice himself to an extent. 

Lev started laughing hysterically beside Kuroo, as did a few others who witnessed the attack. Kuroo applauded their efforts, chuckling at the irritation on Akaashi's face as he wiped his wet hair away from his eyes. Bokuto put him down and he immediately moved off to go change, as did most of the other players besides from Bokuto who was instructing some of the remaining first years to pack up the large banners into the crate behind the dunk machines. Kuroo's friends and acquaintances around him departed to various rides and attractions and Kuroo waved them off, striding over to Bokuto "Have fun?" he stood beside the wet captain as he thanked the first years for cleaning up.

Bokuto chuckled, running his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back "Yeah it was great!" he sighed "We warned Akaashi that if he didn't willingly get on the dunker then we would use force." He explained mid laugh, obviously very proud of himself "Little cold though..." Bokuto rubbed his arms and picked up the crate, dismissing the first years, hauling the crate onto his shoulder with ease. "Just gotta pack up and then i'm all yours~" Bokuto grinned and started heading off in the direction his team went, Kuroo matching his pace. It was quiet as they walked through the part of the school not hosting any carnival rides or games, only the distant sounds of squeals and mechanical whirring of rides could be heard from across the grounds. All the while, Bokuto continued his ultimate moving out plan from earlier. 

They arrived at the changing rooms in the gymnasium block and Kuroo stopped outside. Bokuto looked back at him, effortlessly lifting the box off his shoulder, onto the shelves in front of him. "You can come in dude..." He said as he turned to the door of the change rooms, where chatting could be heard from within "No need to stand out here, when i'm getting naked just _metres_ away." Bokuto enticed sarcastically and headed through the doorway. Kuroo groaned to himself. He's seen him naked before _plenty_ of times, but actually not since his recent epiphany. Should he just stay out there? Well apparently not, because his body had already started walking. He sighed at his lack of self control and casually waltzed into the change room behind Bokuto. 

The rest of the team had finished changing, -with the exception of a few first years- they were all tying shoelaces or fixing their hair. Bokuto grabbed the back of his own collar, slipping his jersey over his head, yanking his arms out of the wet, clingy sleeves and throwing it down in the bench, opening his locker. Kuroo shamelessly admired his back muscles, seemingly unaware that he was in a room filled with people. He directed his conversation to some of the other players when Bokuto hooked his fingers under the waistband of his shorts and slid them down. "Having a good day Akaashi?" He quipped innocently, knowing the other wasn't in the mood. Akaashi just replied with a snide comment and started packing his bag. 

Kuroo found it increasingly difficult to nonchalantly chat with the Fukurodani team when he could see Bokuto out of the corner of his eye, patting his very naked body down with a towel before getting dressed. 

"We should go check out the bull" Konoha voiced, picking up his bag "I wanna see Komi's tiny body clinging to it like a monkey." 

He received a wet towel to the face at the comment followed by Komi challenging him to see who could stay on it for the longest. Kuroo turned his head to the sound of Bokuto's voice, quickly regretting it. 

"What do you wanna do? Besides from enjoy the peepshow." Bokuto asked, looking right at him with a grin. Standing in a very nice pair of black boxer briefs, rubbing the towel through his hair. Kuroo had to get out of here before he melted. Kuroo coughed, trying to rid the breathlessness in his voice. "You keep flattering yourself." Evading was all he could think of doing. Bokuto nodded with a grin. He's only teasing him, but a part of Kuroo actually wished he was being serious, just to hear Bokuto acknowledge his feelings. 

"You're so cute when you're flustered. If you want i can stay half naked for a while longer? just for you~" The tone of his voice was plain mocking, feigning sincerity. Kuroo coughed again at the sudden tickle in his throat. Bokuto's cheeky grin dragged on "What's with all this coughing? You're so evasive when you're embarrassed" he snickered, Kuroo flipped him off with one hand and put his other over his mouth, attempting to eject the irritating feeling from the back of his throat. 

As he did, Bokuto grinned to himself "Y'know i think i know a way to make you feel better." he quipped with a coy smile, waggling his eyebrows at him. Kuroo had to hold back an almost uncontrollable 'yes please' and challenged his suggestive smile instead, raising an eyebrow in 'mock' interest "Are you insinuating what i think you're insinuating?" His eyes went up and down Bokuto, 'pretending' to check him out before taking a few gulps of water from the bottle he acquired earlier. 

Bokuto shrugged, slipping on a pair of grey jeans, his dramatic tone raising "Well you know what i always say; if ya' feeling sick, hop on daddy's dick." 

Kuroo pursed his lips, trying to suppress the sudden outburst. He's not sure whether it's what Bokuto said or the tone he said it in, clearly holding back his own giggle, but either way, he couldn't stop himself from spitting any and all of the water in his mouth out in a mist onto the back of Konoha's head. 

He glanced to the side, meaning to look at Bokuto -who was cackling due to Kuroo's reaction- but found Akaashi instead, whose face was contorted into a look of pure confusion. Not as in, he didn't understand what was so funny. More like he was questioning his friendship with Bokuto and by extension, Kuroo. He furrowed his eyebrows at the two of them, exhausted at their sense of humor and went on with his business. 

Seeing Akaashi's frankly disgusted face, only revived the laughter and Kuroo had to hunch over, folding his arms over his stomach to laugh while Konoha shook him by his jacket yelling that he owed him food as compensation. 

It was these moments that comforted Kuroo. Just being so caught up in the moment that he forgets about his dumb feelings and can just return to normal for a while, making dumber jokes that aren't even funny but laughing at them anyway. 

For the next five minutes they continued making bad 'daddy' puns and terrible innuendos in increasingly stupider voices, until everyone got fed up and left, with the exception of Akaashi who was waiting outside for Bokuto. Kuroo wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. 

"You've ruined the word 'daddy' for me. My kids are gonna have to call me 'buddy' or 'bro' or something." Kuroo smiled through the statement, rousing a giggle from the now clothed Bokuto. 

"For real dude, where do you wanna go?" Bokuto asked as he lifted his bag, slipping it onto his back. Kuroo shrugged "I dunno man, you know what's on better than i do." 

Bokuto hummed and walked out the door "Well Akaashi's hungry, so we're gonna go grab a bite. You coming? Then after~ i can go win you a toy or something." he grinned and Kuroo accepted the offer, requesting the large blue cat he saw at the darts game. 

Believe it or not, Bokuto actually won him the cat. Kuroo was feeling mixed emotions. He was shocked and happy, but also inconvenienced now he had to carry around a 5'0 ft tall, foam filled cat. The hyped up ace managed to win Akaashi something too. A fluffy cream colored bear about the size of his torso, that the setter had been snuggling to his chest rather lovingly for the rest of the day. 

At the end of the day, the fete goers stared up at the sky as fireworks began to go off, the shimmering lights from rides across the school grounds illuminated in the darkness. 'Oohs' and 'Aahs' as well as screams of joy could be heard among the explosions echoing through the sky. Kuroo glanced at the boy sat beside him, his face lighting up the same colors projected above, reflecting in his eyes. Bokuto cheered at an especially giant firework, watching how it fizzled until it disappeared completely. 

Nothing got Bokuto's attention like big, shiny lights in the sky. Kuroo nestled back into the large foam-filled cat, laying down behind the two of them, acting as a pillow from where they lay on the grass. 

"What do you want for your birthday?" Kuroo figured now was as good a time as any to bring it up again. 

"Fireworks."

"Except fireworks." 

Bokuto leaned back into the cat, turning onto his side, facing Kuroo "You don't have to get me anything." 

"I want to." 

Bokuto sighed, tapping a finger on the grass. He stayed silent for a bit before groaning loudly, unable to think of anything "Just get me a gag gift or something! like a hello kitty pencil case or a shirt with a meme on it.. or _a fucking dildo_ , i dont give a shit. i'll laugh at it." 

Kuroo had to suppress any emotions that rose from him at the thought of Bokuto owning a dildo. 

He snapped himself out of it and shrugged in response to Bokuto. Kuroo actually had considered a funny gift, but he would want to get him something meaningful as well... Kuroo matched Bokuto's sigh and rolled over, mirroring him as the fireworks came to a halt. 

"I'll think of something.." Kuroo assured and Bokuto smiled 

"As long as you're with me on my birthday i'll be happy." 

Kuroo's glad it's dark, because there was no way to hide the pathetically loving expression that hit his face just then. Kuroo smiled bashfully, laughing a little. 

"How do you say such embarrassing things without cringing? Do you have any shame?" 

"Nope." 

The two of them smiled brightly at one another, staying still in their own little world as everything else moved around them..

**\------**

The night of Bokuto's house party, Kuroo was standing in front if his mirror, checking his appearance thoroughly. Bokuto's presents were sitting on the bed behind him, as was Kenma, focusing entirely on his psp of course, leaning on the foam cat from the fete.

"Why do I have to go?" Kenma complained monotonously. Kuroo clicked his tongue, tired of explaining why it's good for Kenma to socialize. "Because it's Bokuto's birthday, and he invited you." He stated clearly "You don't have to stay for long, mom said she'll pick you up and take you home whenever you want to, so just go and say happy birthday ok?" 

Kenma didn't respond, going back to his game. Bokuto wouldn't care if Kenma went or not, he invited him more out of courtesy and not as a sign that he expected him to go. He didn't invite a lot of second years anyway, more just sticking to the people in his own year that he hung out with. The exception being Akaashi of course. Kuroo wondered if Akaashi actually had any friends his own age or not. He and Kenma were sort of friends but it was more an indirect, respectful acknowledgment due to Kuroo and Bokuto's relationship. 

Kuroo brushed the thoughts away and kept on fiddling with his hair. He had been trying the 'no fringe' thing for a few weeks now but he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He's had the same hair for ages, more because he could just never be bothered fixing the bedhead in the morning but still... 

Does Bokuto like it? He hasn't said anything about it... maybe he's just being nice... What if- 

"Your fidgeting is making me nervous." Kenma said as his arms dropped down into his lap, staring at the 'Game Over' screen. 

Kuroo just grumbled in response. Kenma stared at him momentarily before picking up his game and restarting "..just kiss him or something..." Kenma was clearly only interested in getting Kuroo out of his annoyingly anxious state and had no care for his relationship with Bokuto.

"Don't you think i want to?" Kuroo half snapped at Kenma's reflection behind him but was immediately embarrassed at the confession. The time between the fete and the party was somewhat of a relief. He didn't see Bokuto much since he was studying for their final exams. Whether Bokuto was doing the same now that volleyball is over, he couldn't be certain. He had the intention to pester him about it while he was still sober. 

He had ended up getting Bokuto a few things. One was soap shaped like Jesus Christ. He knew Bokuto would get a kick out of it. He wouldn't use it, he'd just hang it in his bathroom and whenever people came over and used his shower he'd tell them that Jesus was watching them sin. 

Next was a little sappier. Bokuto had been getting into accessories lately. He's started wearing a watch even though he still checks the time on his phone by habit. But besides from that he's taken a liking to bandanna's and rope/leather braided bracelets and things like that, so Kuroo got him a white bandanna with various nonsense patches on it like 'dead end' and 'times up' and an anklet with a tiny bronze owl head on it. It was good quality so Bokuto could put it on and then never bother about taking it off. 

Lastly was the sappiest. When Kuroo's cousin moved out, it took her months to actually have everything she needed because there were just so many little things you didn't think about during the moving process. One of the things she continuously forgot was a spatula, an integral part of a breakfast scenario. Kuroo spotted sets of gimmicky utensils in a kitchen shop window when he was walking home the other day and took a look inside. He ended up leaving with twin set of mugs, one with "Blow me" written on the bottom and the other with "I'm hot" in the same place. As well as a neat rubber spatula with a yellow handle. Kuroo knew how much moving out meant to Bokuto so he was confident he would like them. He also didn't feel like he'd overdone it since the soap, the bandanna and the anklet were all about 30 yen each, only the mugs were close to what you'd call expensive. 

The party didn't start for over an hour but Bokuto invited a few people over early to raid his parents alcohol shelf that they never use. Kuroo had rarely felt the urge to get wasted before now but he was honestly feeling it tonight. He had Konoha and Yukie to keep him company in that respect. According to Bokuto, they're always the first standing on a table singing. 

He forced his hands away from his hair and picked up the box Bokuto's gifts were neatly packed into. "Alright Kenma, we're going. C'mon." Kuroo motioned towards the door and his setter slowly rolled off the bed and got to his feet, scuffing his feet along Kuroo's carpet as he walked. 

After the walk from the train station, Kuroo directed Kenma to the front door of Bokuto's large, modernistic home. Kuroo waited until his setter had trudged up onto the porch before he rang the doorbell. He had sent a text to Bokuto a few minutes before so he knew they were close and a few seconds after he pressed the button by the door, it swung open to reveal Bokuto, bright eyed and bushy-tailed as always. 

"C'mon in! the others are in the kitchen, if you have any shit you don't want stolen throw it into my room.." he started reciting what seemed like something he's repeated a few times now as he closed the door behind them "Also Kenma, if it gets too loud for you, my parents room is way off on the edge of the second storey, down the hall. I put my playstation up there and some bowls of chips so you can hang there if you like." 

Kuroo looked at Kenma, a knowing smirk on his face. Kenma looked up from the floor, staring at Bokuto for a second, before returning his gaze to a random spot in Bokuto's lounge room. 

"...Thanks..." 

He appreciates that. Kuroo smiled between them. His two favorite people didn't interact all that often but when they did, Kuroo couldn't help but grin. It's funny how they're complete opposites. One is a social butterfly and the other doesn't like talking to more than one person at a time. 

Kuroo held the box out and patted Bokuto's shoulder "Happy Birthday man." he said with a cool, lazy smile. Bokuto stared at the gift and took it, glancing up at Kuroo. "You shouldn't have~" he joked, immediately digging his fingers under the wrapping paper, ripping off the tape. Kuroo's anxiousness hit him like a cold wind. He was certain Bokuto would like everything, but he still felt awkwardly paranoid about watching him open it. 

"Wait, you're opening it now?" Kuroo watched Bokuto sit down on the expensive looking leather couch, and place the box on the coffee table in front of him. Bokuto shrugged, patting the space beside him "Yeah why not? is it embarrassing? Did you confess your undying love to me in the card?" 

Kuroo gulped, laughing it off "Actually there's no card. Couldn't think of anything to say..." Bokuto scoffed at him and opened the box lid, picking up what Kuroo knew was the bandanna and the anklet, and started unwrapping the individual packaging. Kuroo glanced around the room and just caught Kenma disappearing around the corner on the second floor. He was sort of glad they were alone. He could hear the happy voices of the people in the other room and he didn't really feel like listening to their opinions on his gifts. 

"Hey! these are cool!" he exclaimed, slipping the bandanna on, sitting it half in his hair, half on his forehead. Kuroo watched him as he fiddled with unclasping the anklet, speaking up as he looked between which ankle he wanted to put it on. "Hey did you know that in Australia, gay men would wear a bracelet or an anklet on a certain side as a symbol depending on whether they preferred top or bottom?" Kuroo mentioned with a sly grin. Bokuto turned to him in apparent interest "Really? like when they went to clubs and stuff?" Kuroo confirmed and Bokuto stared between the anklet and his feet once more. "Which one is which?" the birthday boy asked innocently.

Kuroo had to think about it for a second. "I'm pretty sure left side is top and right is bottom. I wouldn't quote me on it though." it was right. He knew it was right. He just didn't really want any sort of implication this was something he had extended knowledge on. Bokuto nodded in understanding, putting his legs out on the coffee table, stretching his feet. 

Bokuto and Kuroo don't discuss their sex lives but it's common knowledge that Bokuto had a thing with a guy from his school at the beginning of the year. He has no idea if they even had sex or not because Bokuto refused to talk about him and when Kuroo tried to get information out of Akaashi, he just said it wasn't either of their business. Although Kuroo couldn't help but get the feeling that Akaashi didn't like the guy...

Kuroo didn't mind whichever one it was... Ok maybe he minded a little? He wasn't sure. He's never had sex with a dude before so he wouldn't know, but in his vivid memories of dream sex with Bokuto, he recalls the two of them being in various _positions_ and enjoying them all. Then again those are just dreams...

When he snapped himself back into the real world, Bokuto was smiling at him, it was actually more of a cheeky smirk, speaking with suggestion in his voice "Which one do you want me to wear it on?" 

Kuroo gaped at him in a slight shock, his face instantly flaring up. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes "I don't give a shit, we're not in Australia, it doesn't matter! Just put it on either.." Kuroo had to use all of his concentration to avoid stammering and Bokuto laughed at him, clasping the anklet around his right ankle. He sat upright, taking his legs off the table and winked at Kuroo before leaning back over the box. 

Kuroo knew he was just teasing him but _It worked_ ok? He sat back and crossed his arms with a pout, the heat from his face spreading to his ears. Kuroo stared at him as he giggled manically at the Jesus soap, examining his friend. Bokuto didn't seem like the submissive type to Kuroo. At least not exclusively. Then again, Kuroo felt silly for trying to put a hetero-normative spin on gay relationships. A preference is one thing but that doesn't mean they wouldn't swap every now and then. 

Kuroo couldn't stop the pang of jealousy rising in his stomach thinking about the guy from earlier in the year. He also felt silly for instantly hating anyone who showed interest in Bokuto. He dated a girl about a month after he ended his thing with that guy. Bokuto never seemed too interested in starting relationships, but once he was in them, he was fairly dedicated. Kuroo hated both of them, for no good reason other than jealousy but the hate was still there. He only met the girl twice and only knows the guys face from spending hours stalking his facebook, wondering what Bokuto saw in him..... Even after they stopped seeing each other. 

Kuroo knew he was unnecessarily harsh on the guys that showed interest in Bokuto... but it was mainly because he was bitter that they had the courage to do what he didn't. Also, the thought of Bokuto being touched by some fuckboy set a fire in his stomach.

"Ah dude that's amazing" Boktuo said wiping a happy tear from his eye "Where did you find it?" 

Kuroo mentioned the gimmicky gift store he found off a main road by Nekoma and Bokuto immediately proposed a trip there over the next week. 

Kuroo sat up and shuffled over to him as he reached for the final package. Kuroo found himself picking at his fingernails in anticipation for him to open it. Bokuto's expression softened almost right away, his bright, boyish grin fading to one that could only be described as pleasantly surprised. His mouth open just a bit, head lowered, hands hovering over the contents of the gift, he closed his mouth, biting down on his lip. 

"...My cousin took 2 months to remember to buy stuff like that when she moved out, so i... i made sure we didn't." Kuroo took the silence as a chance to explain the gift. Bokuto nodded slowly, throwing Kuroo off guard when he sniffed, lifting his hand to his face and running his palm under his eye. Kuroo raised his eyebrows, leaning over to try and see his face, placing a gentle hand on his back. 

"Bokuto?" 

The birthday boy quickly sat upright and put both his palms over his eyes, laughing to himself and pursing his lips. Kuroo shuffled closer to him along the couch "Are you ok?" 

Bokuto kept on giggling breathlessly, tipping his head back, wiping his eyes "I'm crying over a _fucking spaluta_ what do you think?" his voice shook as he tried to stop the nonsense. "Shit" he sniffed again "Sorry. I just..." 

"It's fine dude, i know how important the moving out thing is to you. That's why i bought 'em." Kuroo smiled as Bokuto took a deep breath, flopping his head back down and giggled as Kuroo picked up the plain white mugs and tipped them back to reveal the writing on the bases. He wiped his eyes again. At least they were happy tears. 

"Thank you Kuro." Bokuto turned his head after he packed the gifts back in the box. Kuroo shrugged, having a smug, joking response prepared... when Bokuto hugged him, wrapping an arm around his back and the other over his shoulder. Kuroo happily discarded anything more he had to say and slid his own arms around Bokuto's waist, resting his face on his shoulder. Bokuto wordlessly tightened his hold around him and Kuroo sighed longingly. 

_I wanna kiss him so bad..._

Eventually Bokuto pulled away and stood up, grabbing the gift box. "I'm gonna put these upstairs, head on into the kitchen, i'll be there in a sec." With that, Bokuto jogged around the couch and up the stairs. Kuroo's ears tuned back into the loud teenagers in the other room. He had accidentally blocked them out that whole time... 

Kuroo stood and watched Bokuto ascend the stairs before he focused on leaving the room. As he expected, he didn't know a lot of them. The only ones he recognized were Akaashi, Konoha and Yukie. There were three more girls and two other boys, whose faces were vaguely familiar from facebook posts. 

"C'mon ya' 'lil nerd! drink up!" One of the boys was standing behind Akaashi with his hands on his shoulders, while another poured vodka into a glass. The vodka/redbull ratio was too much for _Kuroo_ so he wasn't sure how Akaashi would deal with it.

"Have you really never drank before Akaashi-kun?" Yukie said from next to him, swirling her straw in her drink. Akaashi stared at the drink on the table with clear disinterest "Bokuto-san and Konoha-san make me try something every now and then but i haven't willingly, no." 

Yukie clicked her tongue "Such bad senpai's.." she voiced as she pushed the glass closer to Akaashi, glancing beside her as Kuroo entered her field of vision "Heya Kuroo-chan" She waved lazily, the other heads around the table turning to him. 

"Oh so you're Kuroo! Nice to finally meet ya' dude!" The one that was peer pressuring Akaashi into drinking waltzed up to him and hugged him like a vice, lifting him off the ground. Kuroo widened his eyes as the air was forced out of him. 

Friendly. He should have expected that from someone that Bokuto hangs out with. He put Kuroo down and grinned at him. Kuroo smiled back with a raised eyebrow "Yeah you too.." he said as he straightened out his clothes. He could take a guess at what all of their names were, he's certain he heard of some of them through stories. 

Bokuto popped back into the room at that moment and came up behind Kuroo, hitting his back harder than what should be acceptable. "Start drinking already! I wanna listen to you gush about science like the fucking nerd you are." 

Kuroo turned to him with twisted lips "There's no gushing. I don't gush." 

"Drunk Kuroo does. Seriously. I learn more from you when you're wasted than i did from 3 years of science classes. Tell me more about telomaries Professor Kuroo." Bokuto snickered and Kuroo clicked his tongue with a 'tch'.

"They're called _telomeres_." 

"Nerd." 

"Who are you calling a nerd Mr advanced maths?" One of the girls called to Bokuto with a giggle. 

"Mr advanced maths who obviously doesn't care about passing his exam..." Akaashi muttered into his drink, which was almost empty. That can't be good. 

Kuroo narrowed his eyes and stared Bokuto down. The slacker in question was staring at an empty space beside Kuroo with a blank smile on his face, dreading what came next. "Bokuto." 

"Hey, Hey! did anyone want another drink?" Bokuto immediately turned towards the bar without waiting for any responses. 

"Bokuto." 

"Man, i hope it doesn't rain! i'll have to go put the cover over the pool" Bokuto said as he removed a bottle of green liquid from the bar and put it on the table with his other guests, blatantly avoiding Kuroo's gaze. 

"Bokuto, have you been studying?" Kuroo was watching him like hawk, which made Bokuto visibly uneasy, the forced smile still on his face. 

"Y'know what? I'm not gonna take any chances. I'll go cover up the pool. Be right back!" Bokuto speed walked out of the room and the backdoor could be heard opening and closing. Kuroo groaned and the boys at the table, minus Akaashi, chuckled to each other. 

"Uh oh, the misses is angry." One of them snickered and Kuroo whipped his head over to them. "What?" 

Konoha elbowed the boy and he laughed again "Doesn't matter dude. We should go get the beef master before he drowns himself." 

"He'll be fine" Kuroo reassured with a sigh. "I'll talk to him tomorrow." 

He couldn't believe that guy. Well, actually he could. He would have been more surprised to find out Bokuto was 100% ready for the exam but still. He was so excited about going to university but if he fails a class, or more importantly his uni entrance exam, that won't be happening. 

Kuroo huffed, opening a drink, brushing it off. For now. 

\----

About forty minutes later, people started arriving. Kuroo was well passed the point of sober by that point, he had done one too many shots and made the smart decision to pace himself. An hour in and it was a full house. Three, four hours later, there were people showing up wasted, dragging along people who definitely were not invited. Every now and then Kuroo would point to someone who stood out and ask Bokuto if he knew who they were. So far he's gotten one right. 

"Chill buddy! I let people bring plus 1's" Bokuto said throwing an arm over his shoulder. 

"And 2's, and 3's, and 4's...." Kuroo went on, gazing at the full house. 

"Shut up." 

"Seriously Bo. You invited like sixty people! if they all brought one friend you have an issue. Are you sure you aren't gonna get _*hic*_ shut down?" Kuroo looked around at the lounge from their advantage point half way up the stairs. Bokuto had sent most of the guests outside with the stereo and had blocked off the second floor from anyone who wasn't sober. But there was still at least thirty people inside. His house looked more like a club. 

"My neighbors are cool don't worry! i went over and warned 'em all earlier today and they were all chill 'bout it" Bokuto put a heavy hand on top of Kuroo's head, forcing him to face him, pulling his face close. "Quit your worrying." He said, practically against his lips. 

This is bad. Kuroo could feel his head spinning, muddling his common sense. It took all of his self control not to lean forward and kiss him. He almost did. He stopped himself at the last second, pressing their foreheads together, mumbling a 'fine'. Bokuto chuckled and clicked their drinks together. Kuroo was tipsy, very tipsy he wasn't sure about Bokuto. His tolerance is surprisingly high for someone who doesn't drink often. But Kuroo's pretty sure he's not trying to get shitfaced. He had the feeling Bokuto was lowkey worried about his home being destroyed and wanted to keep watch. Which was shitty since it's his birthday and he's supposed to be having fun. 

Kuroo grabbed his arm and pulled him down the stairs "Your ping pong table is in the garage right?" He asked behind him as he weaved through the party guests. "Yeah. Might be dusty though." Bokuto replied, stopping for a few seconds to chat to a girl who grabbed his shirt as he passed. 

"Doesn't matter" Kuroo continued when he was free, "Watch me fucking own whoever challenges me to beerpong." he grabbed a packet of plastic cups from the kitchen bench and headed outside, over to the garage. 

They got to the door and halted, Kuroo waited, feeling pleasantly numb, for Bokuto to do something and the other looked at him with amusement written on his face "Can I have my hand back? The door's rusty. You need two hands to open it." 

Kuroo stared down at their hands. When did that happen? How long has he been holding his hand for? Luckily his ability to feel embarrassment left two shots ago. 

"Oh!" Kuroo released his hand with a giggle and Bokuto smiled, moving to the door handle. He gripped it with both hands, turning it with a _clunk_ and shoving the door open with his shoulder. Bokuto flipped the light switch and it flickered before turning on, illuminating the room. 

Bokuto found what they were looking for and screwed his face up at the grimy looking game table. It hardly ever gets used. The last time he pulled it out of the garage was for his new years party. He considered bringing it with them when they moved out. It might give them something to do in their new place. Kuroo watched Bokuto clean off the table as best as he could with a discarded towel, side stepping through the clutter to get to the other side, unlodging it from that side so they could move it out. Kuroo was standing there, swaying slightly, in too much of a tipsy daze to even think about trying to help. Those last few shots had finally hit him and he stood there, giggling to himself as he gazed at the clouds of dust billowing from the towel as Bokuto dusted. 

"Heeey! did _you_ know that dust par-ti..cles are mainly made up of dead skin cells of people and animals and depending on how small the particle is, it can stay suspended in the air for up to five days..." Kuroo was just speaking, he didn't think too much about what he was saying. Bokuto nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Really?" He said as he dusted off the table legs. 

Kuroo was ready to drop another fucking dust fact when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Kuroo pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the screen. 

_2:38am_ **Kitten ^_^:** I'm going now. 

Kuroo pouted at the screen. It is past midnight though. They had been here since 8:30, that was a good run for his tiny setter baby. Even if he did spend the entire time in Bokuto's parents room. Kuroo and Bokuto sat up there with him for a while until he sent them away when they started getting giggly. Kuroo grinned inanely as he typed, swaying more prominently now. 

_2:39am_ **Kuro:** THats ok!!! im prroud of u Swet dreamss dude i love ya  <3 

_2:39am_ **Kitten ^_^:** don't text me when you're drunk. 

Kuroo laughed at his own text as Bokuto began moving the table out from the narrow space, lifting it from the middle and shuffling it out. Kuroo noticed and thought about helping him. He didn't. He thought about it though. Instead he just stood there, in Bokuto's path and watched him move it. He was at that stage in drunkenness where his body didn't necessarily do what his brain was thinking. 

"Could you scoot to the side a bit dude?" Bokuto nodded his head and Kuroo nodded too. He still didn't move though. 

"It's ok, I'm helping." Kuroo said confidently. Still not making a move. Bokuto shook his head "I got it buddy, just step over there and try not to trip over anything." he set the table down as he organised Kuroo's next move with him. Kuroo huffed "I'm not drunk you dick, lemme help." 

Bokuto motioned to the other end of the table with a grin and Kuroo, using all of his focus, grabbed the table and pulled it out as Bokuto grabbed the other end. Once they got it out of the garage, Bokuto set it up and then went inside to grab a random assortment of drinks as Kuroo put the cups into triangles at each end. They know it's called 'beerpong' but it's more fun when there's a smattering of different drinks in one cup that fucks you up quicker. 

Kuroo stayed true to his word. He beat the first person he played. As well as the two after that. He had amazing hand-eye coordination for someone who downed three tequila shots. However even though he had been winning, he hadn't avoided his opponent scoring. So while he's won three games, he's also drank half the cups on his side each match. Safe to say he wasn't playing so well anymore.

When Kuroo's next shot went right over the table and hit his opponent on the nose, Bokuto stepped in to stop him. "Ok! im calling a wrap up for the champ here. Time to go drink some water i think." He spoke as he grabbed Kuroo's arms and pushed him away from the table. "Wai-Wa-Waiiit! Lemme finersh th gaaame!" Kuroo's words slurred and leaned back on Bokuto so he couldn't walk. 

Bokuto hoisted him back up. "No... no my dude. Gotta get you some H2O. Someone can take over for you." 

Kuroo gasped, standing up on his own effortlessly and whipping around to face Bokuto. "Did. you. know! the term H2O means that it's two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen? H, 2, O." He chirped happily. Bokuto blinked twice "I didn't know that... I never paid attention in science though." 

Kuroo sounded like he was trying to imitate a car engine as they entered the kitchen. Bokuto sat him down at the table as Kuroo hit his arm excitedly "Dude no! Science is so cool though! Hold on listen, listen!!" he took a deep breath, slamming his fist down on the table "There, is enough DNA... in the average person's body... to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back. 17 times! That's a fuck tonne! The genome, the genetic code in every human cell, contains 23 DNA molecules each containing 500 thousand to 2.5 million nucleot- nucleotide pairs... There are like 37 _trillion_ cells in the human body! that's all right here!" He slammed his hands onto his own chest repeatedly as he kept rambling . His words slurring less and less the more excited he got. 

"If you unrolled all the DNA encased in each cell and put them end to end, You have your fucking Pluto roadtrip! how fucking crazy is that!? Human bodies are amazing dude! We're amazing...." He trailed off, mumbling to himself about white blood cells and Bokuto returned to the table with a glass of water, nodding to him as he put the glass in front of his drunk friend on the table, taking a seat beside him.

Kuroo took it and gulped a few times, relieved slightly by the cool liquid. He'd need a lot more than one glass to sober up, but it was a start. It suddenly dawned on him. 

"Oh no... have you been looking after me all night?" Kuroo stared at him in shock at the realization and Bokuto shook his head "Nah only since those tequila shots you took before we went and set up the beerpong..." 

Kuroo whimpered, hanging his head, spilling the water onto his knee. Bokuto reacted to the moment but Kuroo kept talking "Noo! ... You're supposed to be having fun! you should be the one who's stumbling drunk, not me.." 

Bokuto had grabbed a paper towel and started wiping up the floor. "I am having fun." he assured with a smile, pondering what to do about the wet patch on Kuroo's leg. Kuroo shook his head rapidly "No you're not!" he wailed. "All you've been doing is listening to me prattle on about stupid science."

Bokuto pulled his chair closer to him, putting a hand on his dry knee. "Hey, don't badmouth your favorite subject. At least it's interesting when you talk about it." Kuroo stared at the hand and put his hand on top of it, lightly tracing his fingers up Bokuto's, poking his knuckles. Bokuto watched the hand and coughed, moving his hand and putting it back in his lap. Kuroo pouted at the reaction, hanging his head again. 

Bokuto stared at his friend as he suddenly stood up with a determined look on his face, wobbling and trying to keep his balance. Bokuto stood as well and held his sides to keep him steady, holding him close to his own body. "Woah, buddy. Sit back down before you fall down." 

A low giggle arose from Kuroo as he leaned into Bokuto "Hold me up~" 

"If i hold you for any longer, i'll never want to let go." Bokuto replied, a tight feeling rising in his chest as Kuroo pressed his head against Bokuto's, huffing, gripping to the material on the others back. "I'd be ok with that..." Kuroo said quietly. Bokuto would have missed it if he had just breathed a little heavier than usual.

Kuroo tilted his head just a little bit, their noses rubbed together and he took a deep breath, standing up straight without Bokuto's assistance. There was a heavy feeling in the air between them, Kuroo's breathing was jagged but his expression was calm and collected. The stare he was giving Bokuto made him nervous, the dark brown eyes laying into his own. Bokuto wanted to step back but something about Kuroo's face was keeping him pinned there. 

Bokuto tensed up and fidgeted under his eyes. It's like he's examining his face, tilting his head to get a better look, his eyes roaming over the ace's features. Bokuto managed to avert his eyes momentarily but it was like Kuroo's gaze compelled him to keep eye contact, and whenever they did, a shiver ran down his spine. 

Bokuto inhaled sharply when Kuroo's steely gaze dropped to his lips, keeping them there, his teeth lightly grazing along his own bottom lip. Bokuto's own breathing grew shaky, his heartbeat quickening... 

"Boku~to!" 

Bokuto jumped back at the sound of his name and whipped his head to the source. It was Yukie, she popped around the corner and glanced at the two of them, her expression growing puzzled when she saw how Kuroo was staring at Bokuto. 

"I... er" she slowly moved her eyes from one captain to the other "I haven't seen Akaashi in a while.. have you seen him?" She sounded mildly worried and Bokuto shook his head, regaining his composure at the mention of his setter. "No i haven't seen him.. How much has he drank?" Bokuto asked out of habit. He's been playing 'lost and found' with drunk friends all night . 

The manager thought about it for a second. "A bit? not as much as me... but, i drink most weekends and he well, y'know. It's been a few hours so he's either passed out somewhere or he's sobered up... Here's hoping for the latter." She said holding up a pair of crossed fingers. Bokuto nodded and glanced at Kuroo, feeling his eyes baring into the side of his head. 

"Right ok, we'll swap. You... watch Kuroo and i'll find Akaashi." He said walking passed her. She agreed and Bokuto headed up the stairs, being met with the unfortunate smell of vomit. He knew perfectly well the drunks would find the second floor, he just hoped there wouldn't be much to clean the next morning... later in the morning anyway.. he glanced up at the clock with a short laugh. Wait a few more hours and they can watch the sunrise...

It became apparent that Bokuto wasn't as sober as he thought. He was sober enough to think straight but his motor skills betrayed him every now and then. Evidence when he moved to lean on the hallway cupboard, misjudged the distance, slipped and hit his head on the door. He muttered a 'fuck' and swore he head an echo of his own groan somewhere in the area. He stared at the cupboard door in bewilderment and reached up to the handle, opening it and peering in. 

Guess who. 

"Akaashi- what the... why are you sitting in the cupboard?" He asked, holding his head. Akaashi was holding his head too, probably from the sudden bang echoing around his hidey hole. He looked at his captain sleepily, hooded eyes looking tired, but not drunk. Bokuto shuffled next to him, just outside the cupboard space and patted his face lightly. "You okay ya' party animal?" Bokuto smiled at his kohai and Akaashi closed his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"I'm... fine? I believe... I think i need to go to sleep." Akaashi said quietly, Bokuto chuckled "I'd say so too! c'mere..." 

Bokuto wrapped an arm around his back, helping him stand, holding onto him as he stumbled once he got to his feet. "You need something that doesn't smell like vodka to sleep in?" Bokuto asked as he led the younger boy to his parents room. Akaashi mumbled a 'no' since he didn't want to be a bother, and Bokuto shrugged. "Don't worry, i can grab you something... shorts and a shirt good yeah?" 

Bokuto put him on the bed and moved to his own room to grab sleeping clothes for Akaashi. He had no intention of looking after all the drunk people crashing at his house, however he would do a last minute check before he goes to sleep to make sure no one's drowning in their own vomit. Yukie had called dibs on one of Bokuto's faux jerseys to sleep in, so Bokuto put that on the opposite side of his parents large bed. They wouldn't mind sleeping next to each other, but he would happily tell Konoha so they could call Akaashi a player for the following week. He rolled out two extra futons on either side of the bed and placed some buckets by bedsides and wondered why he didn't do this while his head wasn't foggy. He stood up slowly, squeezing his eyes shut when his head spun rather intensely. 

Bokuto was just trying to find things to distract him from Kuroo. He's just drunk right? There's nothing behind all the weirdly sensual touching and staring right? Bokuto is absolutely certain they've been touchier and feelier than that before but there was something about Kuroo just then that made him... shudder. The good sort of shudder. Bokuto groaned, attracting Akaashi's attention. He stared at his captain as he snuggled under the covers. "Bokuto-san? Is something wrong?" 

Bokuto shrugged "I'm honestly not sure... I..." he sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed "I think... Someone might have feelings for me? But i can't tell and I'm not sure if that's because im tipsy or because of who it is.." he fiddled with his hands in his lap and stared at the empty space in front of him. 

Akaashi blinked, watching the back of the others head "Do their feelings make you uncomfortable?" Bokuto quickly responded "No, No! not at all.. it's just... a surprise i guess.." he set his hands in his lap, staring forward. Akaashi watched his captains reactions carefully.

"Do you like them back?" Bokuto couldn't think of a reply that sounded genuine. Does he? How was he supposed to tell? Usually when two people go from friends to more-than-friends, they weren't super close before hand and acted more 'couply' than people who were actually dating. 

"I spent the passed four hours 'looking after them' when they really didn't need looking after. I think i just wanted to spend time with them... but...i honestly don't know." Bokuto admitted, scratching his head. 

The setter thought about the answer for a second before replying "How do you feel when you're around them? Is it different to when you're with other people?" 

Now Bokuto definitely is not what you would call observant, but even he can't look passed that little moment from earlier. So is that it? Kuroo likes him? Bokuto didn't want to assume anything, so he voted to wait until Kuroo said something himself. As for Bokuto's side of things... well... He's definitely more comfortable around him than other people. He'd even go as far to say he's happier with Kuroo than any of the people he's been with romantically. But does that mean he's got a crush on him? 

"....Maybe?... i really don't know." Bokuto scratched the back of his head again "I wouldn't go so far as to call them _feelings_ just.... uh... thoughts. Tingly thoughts..happy thoughts."

Akaashi nuzzled his face into the pillow, feeling better now he was lying down and comfortable. "Give yourself some time Bokuto-san." he spoke simply "Don't force yourself to work it out right away. Let the feelings work themselves out, then decipher them from there once they've settled."

Bokuto soaked in the advice, putting his head in his hands. "You're right. Of course you're right... I just need to.. _chill_. Let it happen on its own.... right? It might be nothing after all." 

"Or it might be a crush." Akaashi chimed in and Bokuto gulped. 

"You have to be prepared to accept whatever they turn out to be. Might be nothing true, but judging by your current behavior you're exhibiting, it's not nothing, and this person is very important to you..." 

Bokuto just listened. It was downright obvious Akaashi knew who he was talking about, but it was unspoken, respectful. Bokuto appreciated it. 

"...The moment will come remember..?" he yawned in the middle of his sentence as he relayed Bokuto's own advice "You'll know it when you get to it." 

Bokuto stood slowly, patting his setters leg "Thanks Akaashi. Dunno where i'd be without you." Akaashi gave him one of his rare smiles, closing his eyes "Up a tree without a ladder. Figuratively or literally." 

Bokuto said goodnight and turned the light off, closing the door behind him. Moving down the hallway and down the stairs, he said goodbye to a few people and threw blankets over others. It had been slowly dying down for the passed hour, which he was pleased about since it was getting close to 4:30am. There were still people who didn't look like they were going to sleep anytime soon but Bokuto let them be. He took the time to assess his home. There were discarded cups and paper plates strewn around but other than that, nothing looked broken or thrown up on. He'd take a better look tomorrow anyway.. 

He walked out into the rec room and spotted most of the early group from before the party. Konoha and Komi passed out together on the recliner chair, Bokuto took a picture for good measure and Yukie informed him that she'd already taken a few. Kuroo was babbling away with Yukie and two other girls who were just listening to him mumble on, apparently adoringly amused with how he was acting.

"Your shifts over Yukie, i'm gonna put the nerd to bed." he said as he walked up to them. Yukie yawned "It's weirdly interesting. He was telling us about.. apmesilin... ampis-... something resistance to do with bacteria and stuff." 

"Ampicillin resistance! it'sa practical I did in my college bio-chem prep class... thing..." he piped up, his face pressed awkwardly to the couch muddling his words. "A week earlier we altered the bacterias genome and then the next week we added ampicillin to see if the bacteria died- er- broke down or not..." he explain vaguely and everyone made various noises of understanding, None of them being excellent at science. 

"Ok buddy, let the girls go to sleep and quit wooing them with your brain." Bokuto shook his shoulder, rousing him from his half sleeping status. It took a bit, but eventually Kuroo was standing and walking up the stairs with a standard level of help from Bokuto. 

Once they were in Bokuto's room, he immediately flopped down onto his bed, curling up on his side. Bokuto sat down beside his head and sighed up at the ceiling. 

"...M'sorry..." 

"For what?" Bokuto glanced down at Kuroo, who just pressed his face into the bed. 

"I made you uncomfortable." he mumbled. Bokuto put a hand in his hair with a smile. 

"Nah. It takes a lot more than that to make me uncomfortable." Bokuto stated truthfully and Kuroo made a dejected noise. 

"M'sorry.." he repeated. 

"It's okay."

Kuroo stayed still for a while, Bokuto just sat there with his hand in his hair, softly scratching his head, running his fingertips over his scalp. 

"...You know what a lymphocyte is?" Kuroo spoke up finally and Bokuto grinned, gazing at an empty space in front of him "Not a clue. What is it?" 

Kuroo gently gripped the covers, tapping his fingers occasionally "It's another name for white blood cells. They work by ident- _*hic*_ ifying a single virus or infection and basically there's one white blood cell in all our bodies that can identify a specific illness. So when you get like, some weird infection, there's a white blood cell that's like 'i got you bro' and will start trying to help out..human bodies are amazing dude." Kuroo spoke softly, nuzzling his head into Bokuto's touch. "..but like, we have no idea where they came from, or how many we have. We don't even really know how they work, they just do and it's so crazy..." his tone sounded genuinely amazed. It was frankly adorable how much he loved this stuff. Bokuto was more than happy to listen to someone talk about something they were passionate about. This was something that Kuroo loved, so he felt like he could love it indirectly, even if it was just through Kuroo.

Bokuto gave one final pat to Kuroo's head "Alright, how 'bout you get ready for bed and crawl under the covers, i'll be back in a minute, just gonna check on everyone else." Kuroo raised his head in a sort of nod and Bokuto stood up, leaving the room and making a sweep of the house, saying goodnight to the girls and making sure everyone was comfortable with where they were, -being a good host and lowkey making sure nobody's doing drugs- and then made his way back to Kuroo. 

He had stripped down to his boxers and gotten into the bed. Bokuto did the same, putting Kuroo's clothes in a pile on his desk chair, taking a deep breath, distracting himself from Kuroo's eyes following him around the room as he climbed into bed beside him. He turned the lamp on his side table off and closed his eyes, not to go to sleep but feeling like his eyes needed to be closed in order to stop the room from spinning. There was more silence, a perfectly comfortable silence but so quiet, that Kuroo successfully tricked Bokuto into thinking he was asleep. 

"Bokuto?" 

"Yeah?" 

Kuroo didn't respond right away, Bokuto opened his eyes, turning his head. He could see him shuffling closer in the dark and he settled once he was right beside Bokuto. The pillow under Bokuto's head dipped as Kuroo leaned his weight on it. He closed his eyes when he could feel the others breath on his face, sighing out his nose when the considerably drunker one spoke.

"Have you ever kept something a secret for so long you can't imagine what it would be like if it wasn't a secret anymore..?" Kuroo's voice was slurry and muffled but Bokuto's pretty sure he got the gist of what he was trying to say. Bokuto tapped his fingers on the mattress absentmindedly. Honestly, not really. Bokuto tries to be an open book in that respect. But now that he thinks about it, he's not sure if he's ever had anything he's wanted to keep room somebody else. There's... _certain things_ he'd prefer not to talk about, but he wouldn't consider them secrets.

"Well, no, but the longer you keep something a secret the harder it'll be to tell people..." Bokuto said quietly, wondering if that spurred anything inside of Kuroo. The one in question stayed silent, fingers itching against the pillows, just wanting to reach out and touch the one beside him. 

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" 

More silence. 

Bokuto couldn't deny his talk with Akaashi had made him curious. Regardless, if something were going to be revealed he wanted it to be after the two of them had talked about it for a while, not while one of them was 99.5% wasted and running on fumes. Bokuto was about to tell him to sleep when Kuroo shuffled closer again.

"No." 

Bokuto wasn't sure if he was happy or not, but he's not really sure about anything at the moment. Wrapping his arm around Kuroo that night felt different than usual. Good or bad, he couldn't tell. 

Kuroo responded quickly, relaxing into him, sliding an arm around his back and nuzzling his face under Bokuto's jaw. Bokuto tipped his head back, resting his chin in Kuroo's hair, a hand slowly running through the scruffy black locks, eliciting a sigh from Nekoma's captain. Their hold on each other tightened simultaneously, Bokuto moved his face to nestle his nose in the top of his head, his lips brushing the others forehead. He's certain Kuroo could feel his heart racing... he just dragged his fingers up and down the back of his head, Kuroo doing his best to get as close to the ace as he could, practically _purring_ from the feeling of fingers running through his hair. Bokuto lay there with open eyes, staring into the top of his friends head as he continued the loving traces down his neck. 

His friend. 

His friend, who in one, slow, smooth movement, tilted his head back, his nose tickling the others chin, stretched out his neck, close enough so their noses brushed. 

Bokuto's eyes roaming over Kuroo's face, his lazy, hooded eyes staring up at him. He moved his head that little bit further down, just enough to close the gap... Kuroo did the rest, parting his lips and closing them over Bokuto's, slowly, lazily, taking his bottom lip in between his own. Bokuto's heart was _throbbing_ in his throat, their tiredness prolonging the contact until Kuroo relaxed his neck, lips slipping apart. Kuroo attempted to lean in again, suddenly gaining a burst of energy but Bokuto put his thumb over his mouth, lightly brushing it across his lips, then his cheek. "Go to sleep Kuro...." he said softly and the other hummed, dropping his head onto the pillow once again. He was serious about not wanting anything to happen until Kuroo was sober, but his sleepy state was more willing to let him do what he liked. 

He returned his hand to the back of Kuroo's head and the other exhaled deeply out his nose, nuzzling his head under Bokuto's jaw once again, latching onto his neck, leisurely kissing the skin. Bokuto found himself being lulled to sleep, pulled firm against another body, hot breath running over his neck. 

\-----

Kuroo had been throwing up since about 8:30, still a little drunk, but conscious enough to make it to the bathroom across from Bokuto's room. When Bokuto had asked him if he needed anything an hour later, Kuroo's only response was for him " ..to be left alone to suffer." so Bokuto put on a pair of pants and made his way downstairs to find out what the clanging noises in the kitchen were. He wasn't surprised to see Konoha helping himself to whatever was in the kitchen, moving _very_ slowly, cringing when he accidentally made a loud noise. Bokuto hadn't drank enough to have an after effect so he was in the perfect position to ridicule his hungover friends until he felt bad and made pancakes. 

"Morning princess." Bokuto said quietly over Konoha's shoulder as his teammate leaned over the bench, trying to steady his head and his stomach. 

"...I hate you so fucking much..." 

Konoha didn't even turn around, just pressed his head to the counter and groaned. Bokuto snickered and patted his back. "Go sit down, i'll get you some pain killers..." Bokuto turned on his heel, and jogged back up the stairs to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Akaashi was peering through the doorway to where Kuroo was kneeling, regretting his life choices. He had stopped throwing up and was just sitting there with his elbows on the toilet seat. "If you need the toilet there's one in mom and dads room." Bokuto informed his setter who shook his head, his gaze moving between Kuroo and Bokuto, his eyes briefly finding Bokuto's neck. "No, i was just checking on him." Akaashi stood back, allowing Bokuto to step passed. Bokuto paused beside him and examined the setter, still wearing the clothes Bokuto had given him. 

"You're so cute Ah- kaa-shiii~ You should wear my clothes all the time." Bokuto said with a grin, then grinned wider when Akaashi narrowed his eyes in exhaustion and walked passed him without adding to the comment. Bokuto called behind him as he walked "Hey, hey, could ya' bring a glass of water up for this one? any glass is fine." he pointed at Kuroo even though he wasn't looking and Akaashi agreed as he descended the stairs. 

Bokuto walked in and opened the cabinet on the wall, grabbing the boxes of headache/nausea tablets and closing it, glancing down at Kuroo again. "You okay?" Bokuto smiled at the groan in reply, laughing to himself, crouching down and putting a hand on his back. "I think you're empty dude..." Bokuto reached up and flushed the toilet, Kuroo didn't even move his head. Akaashi returned with the water and Bokuto thanked him, leaving the water and meds on the counter for Kuroo when he felt up to moving. Kuroo made a few pained noises into the toilet bowl "I didn't do anything embarrassing did i...? How long is my snapchat story?" he groaned, holding his head with one hand. The ace chuckled, trying not to laugh too much as Kuroo hunched over the toilet "A few minutes i think.. and nah, you were an angel." Kuroo's scoff echoed in the bowl, sighing tiredly.

"I don't remember a damn thing..."

Bokuto's hand that was rubbing circles on the others back paused, he blinked a couple of times and repeated what the suffering middle blocker had said "You.... don't remember, _anything?_ Nothing at all...?" he clarified and Kuroo just shook his head. Bokuto let out a short, silent laugh out his nose, excusing himself. He told him to come downstairs when he was ready to help him assess the damage and Kuroo gave him a lazy thumbs up, letting his arms flop down to his side. 

Bokuto wasn't sure what he was feeling... A part of him was happy that they had a chance to redo that moment but the other half thought that moment was really fucking nice. He would have loved to wake up to Kuroo bashfully giggling at the memory of what he'd done before they went to sleep, having all day to talk about it as they pleased. He slowly walked down the stairs, distracting himself by surveying his home to see how many stragglers were still hanging around. He was happy to see that there were less than ten people remaining at his house, only three if you don't count the ones Bokuto expected to stay. He decided to leave the clean up for later in the day, none of his friends would leave before they had sobered up anyway, so he had plenty of help. He put the tablets beside Konoha's head on the breakfast bar and he mumbled a thanks, dragging his body upright. 

He aimlessly moved around the kitchen, his mind somewhere else entirely, pointing to where Akaashi could find things to make a hot drink. After returning to the kitchen from the lounge where he was just making sure Komi was puking into a bucket, he glanced behind him to see Kuroo making his way down the stairs with more ease than he expected, tired but with the slightest spring in his step. Bokuto raised his hand to wave at him and Kuroo had to double-take his glance at Bokuto, his eyes instantly pinned to his neck.

Bokuto rose an eyebrow when Kuroo's eyes widened at him, he made a questioning face and Kuroo visibly gulped pointing to his own neck, mirroring where he was looking on Bokuto "You... uh... have...a-....uh..." Kuroo's face could only be described as a mix between upset and embarrassment at noticing it, as he struggled to find words that he was comfortable saying. Bokuto felt his neck in confusion. Konoha had risen his head for the first time that morning and his eyes widened when he found the conversation topic as well. 

"Bokuto you fucking minx!" he yelped louder than anyone was prepared for "Who did that, huh?!" his grin could have split his face in two. Bokuto whipped his head between the ecstatic looking Konoha, and Kuroo who was gripping front of his jumper, staring off to the side with an unreadable expression. 

Bokuto pulled his phone out of his pocket and used the front camera to see what all the fuss was about. His face flared up as soon as he saw the _huge_ hickey spread across the left side of his neck. It wasn't some little pink spot, it was a big purple and brown mess of splodges, that only suggested that somebody had gone to town on his neck. 

And he knew exactly who it was. The one who didn't remember anything. 

Bokuto slapped a hand over his neck, a bight pink blush spreading over his face, up to his ears. Konoha started excitedly pestering him on details, seeming like his hangover was a distant memory. "C'mon, don't leave me in the dark! Who was it?" he thudded his hands on the counter "Either it was a dude or a girl with one hell of a mouth on her, whose number you should definitely give me if you're not interested." Konoha quipped, attempting to grab Bokuto's wrist to reveal the mark and get a closer look. Bokuto moved out of his reach, turning to Kuroo who was chewing on his lip at what Konoha was saying. Bokuto pressed his lips together, wanting to pull Kuroo aside and remind him somehow. 

But what if Kuroo felt differently when he was sober? What if it embarrasses him and he didn't want to know? 

Bokuto stayed quiet and endured Konoha's questions, as Kuroo sat down at the table, staring at his phone without a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tfw your unrequited pining fic turns into a mutual pining fic.  
> welcome to this fresh new hell.


End file.
